Christ  Triumphant 

and  CHRISTIAN  IDEAL 


P.  a  SCHILLING,  D.D. 


M— awwBi 


>,y 


FEB  20  1918 


A. 


BR  121 

.S35 

>  1917 

Schilling, 

Perry 

Calhoun, 

1870- 

Christ 

triumphant 

and 

Christian 

ideal 

CHRIST  TRIUMPHANT 
and  CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 


p.  C.  SCHILLING 


1FEB?,3  li 


CHRIST 
TRIUMPHANT 

and 

CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

by 
P.  C.  SCHILLING,  D.D. 


1917 

The  Stratford  Co.,  Publishers 

Boston,  Mass. 


Copyright,   1917 

The    STRATFORD    CO.,    Publishers 

Boston,   Mass. 


The   Alpine  Press,   Boston,   Mass.,   U.   S.   A. 


Bebtcatton 


TO    MY   WIFE,    DELLA    BRUNA   SCHILLING,    WHO    HAS 

EVER    BEEN    TO    ME    AN    ENCOURAGEMENT, 

INSPIRATION     AND     AN     INCARNATE 

CONSCIENCE,       THIS       WORK 

IS       AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED. 


Introduction 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  art  of  writing  man's 
path  has  been  strewn  with  many  books  of  a  religious 
nature.  They  have  been  uplifting  and  inspiring  and 
have  helped  to  steer  thousands  of  groping,  fainting 
hearts  to  a  higher  life.  But  there  are  many  moment- 
ous questions  of  theology  that  have  been  challenging 
and  staggering  the  minds  of  greatest  theologians  and 
perplexing  the  hearts  of  the  whole  christian  world. 
The  author  of  this  book  has  found  the  solution  to  many 
of  these  vital  problems,  through  his  knowledge  of  holy 
writ;  and  to  those  who  are  fortunate  enough  to  read 
these  pages,  the  mists  of  doubt  and  uncertainty  will 
disappear,  like  the  fog  before  the  mid-day  sun.  These 
chapters  began  as  sermons  and  lectures  delivered  by 
Dr.  Schilling  during  his  pastorates  in  Texas  and  Okla- 
homa. The  first  chapter  was  the  subject  of  a  sermon 
preached  in  the  pulpit  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  of 
Humble,  Texas.  It  was  an  extemporaneous  produc- 
tion of  a  sick  and  deeply  distressed  preacher  and  was 
attended  with  blessed  and  glorious  results.  The  ser- 
mon attracted  wide  attention  and  appeared  in  several 
secular  newspapers  shortly  after  it  was  delivered,  and 
later  during  the  near  years,  it  appeared  in  a  number 
of  religious  journals,  the  last  one  to  run  the  sermon 
before  it  was  incorporated  in  this  work,  being  the 
"Western  Recorder,"  of  Louisville,  Ky.    The  sermon 

vii 


INTRODUCTION 

is  a  theological  classic  —  a  literary  gem.  It  is  the 
most  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  wonderful  doc- 
trine of  Incarnation  that  the  writer  has  ever  read  in 
sermon  form.  And  it  was  written  after  it  was 
preached  by  the  author.  He  is  a  peculiar  preacher. 
He  cannot  write  a  sermon  in  advance  of  its  delivery. 
Immediately  after  preaching  a  sermon  he  can  write  it 
verbatim  and  incorporate  all  of  the  leading  features  of 
phraseology  and  exegesis  that  characterized  it,  but 
every  attempt  to  write  a  sermon  before  its  delivery, 
has  resulted  in  a  literary  production  that  is  devoid  of 
that  unctious  power,  brilliant  thought  and  thrilling 
genius  that  characterize  the  preached  sermon.  Hence 
the  author's  writings,  sermons  and  lectures,  have 
characteristic  ear  marks  that  make  them  in  method, 
structure  and  thought,  entirely  distinct  and  different. 
The  author  is  intensely  orthodox  and  accepts  the  Bible 
as  the  Word  of  God  from  the  First  of  Genesis  to  the 
last  of  Revelation;  however,  his  position  on  several 
questions  of  theology  and  eschatology,  discussed  in 
these  pages,  is  not  in  harmony  with  the  popular  opin- 
ion of  the  general  public,  touching  those  points.  The 
author  believes  in  a  separate  state  of  the  dead  between 
death  and  the  resurrection,  accepting  Hades  as  the 
abode  for  disembodied  souls,  the  saved  and  the 
doomed  alike  ipntering  that  placte  immediately  at 
death,  the  saved  however  being  separated  from  the  un- 
saved —  the  imprisoned  in  Tartarus,  the  former  en- 
joying the  visible  presence  of  angels  and  a  closer  re- 
lationship with  Jesus  in  Paradise.    All  of  these  com- 

viii 


INTRODUCTION 

plicated  matters  are  boldly  and  plainly  discussed  in 
the  chapter  on  "Heaven.'*  But  it  will  be  impossible 
for  me  to  say  everything  that  s^iould  be  said  about  the 
merits  of  this  work  in  an  introductory  article;  there- 
fore the  limitations  of  space  admonish  me  to  bring  this 
article  to  a  close,  and  I  can  do  nothing  more  than  to 
mention  one  or  two  additional  chapters,  giving  them  a 
passing  notice  and  encouraging  the  public  to  give  this 
book  a  careful  reading  and  thoughtful  consideration, 
which  it  so  richly  deserves.  The  chapters  on  "The 
Second  Coming,"  "The  Millenium,"  "God's  Greatest 
Creative  Act :  A  Man, "  "  The  Resurrection, ' '  will  be 
read  and  re-read  by  an  appreciative  public,  and  the 
good  these  sermons  will  do,  in  my  honest  opinion,  is 
destined  to  attain  immortality  and  live  forever  in  the 
hearts  and  memories  of  men.  But  the  chapter  on  the 
subject  of  a  finished  redemption,  entitled  ' '  The  Chris- 
tian Ideal  as  Expressed  in  a  Finished  Redemption ' '  is 
one  of  the  most  astonishing,  searching,  able  and  com- 
forting articles  in  the  book.  In  fact,  there  is  not  a  dull 
page  in  the  book  and  like  the  heart  of  the  author,  it 
is  sparkling  with  that  divine  intelligence,  human  sym- 
pathy and  optimism  that  holds  us  in  its  grip  until  we 
have  read  every  word  of  it.  I  bespeak  for  the  book  a 
wide  reading  and  a  phenomenal  circulation  attained 
by  few  books  in  the  last  twenty-five  years.  And  I 
freely  predict  that  it  will  live  and  flourish  as  a  green 
bay  tree,  to  bless  and  help,  inspire  and  encourage,  gen- 
erations yet  unborn,  and  long  after  the  author  has 
gone  the  "way  of  the  earth  and  been  added  to  the 

ix 


INTRODUCTION 

fathers/'  he  will  speak  messages  of  hope,  through  its 
gleaming  pages,  to  the  nations  of  the  world.  This 
book  will  never  die  and  to  the  struggling,  studious, 
consecrated  preacher,  who  wrote  it,  and  The  Stratford 
Company,  who  have  made  its  circulation  possible,  a 
waiting  world  and  a  bewildered  people,  should  give 
their  most  liberal  patronage  and  extend  a  hearty,  sin- 
cere vote  of  thanks.  This  book,  that,  like  many  others 
that  purport  to  discuss  similar  themes,  is  not  dry  or 
prolix  in  any  sense  of  the  word.  It  expresses  the 
truest  and  highest  form  of  divine  romance,  stirs  the 
imagination,  enkindles  hope  and  challenges  the  soul  to 
rise  up  in  the  majesty  of  its  divine  right,  to  receive 
the  robe  of  righteousness  and  be  crowned  with  the. 
hope  of  immortality.  It  is  not  a  heartless  literary 
product,  neither  is  it  a  brainless  theological  treatise. 
It  has  heart  and  brain  and  soul.  Read  it  and  "pass 
it  on.'' 

T.  J.  WEATHERALL,  A.B. 

Supt.  City  Schools 
Hartshorne,  Okla. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Introc 

uction 

vii 

I. 

Christ  Triumphant 

1 

II. 

The  Great  Commission  . 

15 

III. 

God^s   Greatest   Creative   Act:   A 

Man 

32 

IV. 

Faith  In  Christ       .... 

59 

V. 

Our  Home 

79 

VI. 

Pre-Eminence  of  Christ  . 

94 

VII. 

The  Second  Coming  of  Jesus  Christ 

111 

VTIT. 

Resurrection  of  the  Dead 

156 

IX. 

The  Millenium        .... 

174 

X. 

Christian  Ideal  as  Expressed  in  a 

Finished  Redemption 

208 

XI. 

Heaven 

232 

CHAPTER  I 

Christ  Triumphant 

' '  Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first  and  last  and  the  Living 
One;  and  I  was  dead  and  behold  I  am  alive  forever- 
more,  and  I  have  the  keys  of  death  and  of  Hades." 
Rev.  1,  17,  18. 

I  would  to  God  that  we  could  meditate  upon  the 
beauty  and  effulgent  glory  of  our  Christ  until  our 
souls  were  transformed  in  the  light  of  His  presence, 
being  renewed  in  the  power  of  His  personal  holiness, 
translated  into  His  image  and  so  endowed  with  the 
gift  of  acceptable  worship,  that  we  might  rapturously 
join  the  glad  acclaim  of  Dante : 

**0  eternal  beam! 
(Whose  height  what  reach  of  mortal  thought 

can  soar?) 
Yield  me  again  some  httle  particle 
Of  what  thou  appeardest;  give  my  tongue 
Power,   to    leave   one   sparkle   of   thy   glory, 
Unto  the  race  to  come,  that  shall  not  miss 
Thy  triumph  wholly,  if  thou  waken  aught 
Of  memory  in  me,  and  endure  to  hear 
The  record  sound  in  this  unequal  strain.'^ 

There  is  no  speech  nor  language,  sufficient  to  express 
the  admiration  of  the  innumerable  hosts  of  the 
''blood-washed  followers  of  the  Lamb"  for  Him,  nor 
to  accurately  describe  His  glorious  person.  Adjec- 
tives fail,  poetic  symbols  prove  inadequate,  the  almost 

[1] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

infinite  thought  of  the  philosopher,  the  omnipotent 
rhetoric  of  the  brilliant  orator,  with  the  luminous  pen 
of  inspiration  in  the  hand  of  a  divine  seer,  fail  to  ac- 
complish more  than  to  sparkle  forth  in  fitful  flashes, 
the  brightness  of  ' '  His  express  image ' '  upon  the  dark 
horizon  of  wliirling  thought.  What  a  picture  is 
drawn  by  the  entranced  Apostle  as  he  tremblingly 
attempts  to  portray  the  glory  of  the  enthroned  Christ ! 
Given  a  brush  made  of  the  sensitive  jonquils,  a  paint 
made  of  irisated  glory  of  the  universe,  and  the  star- 
spangled  dome  of  heaven  for  a  canvas,  and  the  most 
talented  Archangel  that  waits  before  His  throne, 
would  give  up  the  task  in  despair. 

'*The  glory!  The  glory!  around  Him  are  poured 
Mighty  hosts  of  the  angels  that  wait  on  the  Lord; 
And  the  glorified  saints  and  the  martyrs  are  there, 
And  all  who  the  palm-wreaths  of  victory  shall  wear." 

The  Death  of  Jesus 

' '  I  was  dead  and  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore  ! 
Calvary  is  the  most  interesting  spot  on  earth.  Its 
dark  tragedy  holds  a  magic  charm  for  all  men."  The 
nature  of  Christ's  existence  is  mysterious,  I  admit; 
but  this  mystery  meets  the  wants  of  man.  Reject  it, 
and  the  world  is  an  inexplicable  riddle;  believe  it, 
and  the  history  of  our  race  is  satisfactorily  explained. 
Thus  the  great  Napoleon  adds  his  unselfish  testimony 
to  the  mysterious  influence  of  Jesus,  that  He  exerts 
in  every  age  and  upon  all  nations  and  races  of  men. 

[2] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

Tho  it  is  true  that  He  is  unrecognized,  in  a  personal 
sense,  by  multitudes,  it  is  also  true  that  He  exercises 
a  dynamic  power  that  is  felt  in  all  departments  of 
human  life,  generally  speaking,  and  that  compels  un- 
counted millions  of  people  to  obey  and  adore  Him. 
The  Christ  question  will  not  down  • —  He  is  inescap- 
able. 

Richter  says :  "  He  is  the  holiest  among  the  mighty, 
and  the  mightiest  among  the  holy,  has  lifted  with  His 
pierced  hands  empires  off  their  hinges,  has  turned 
the  stream  of  centuries  out  of  its  channel,  and  still 
governs  the  ages ! ' '  Hence  it  is  true,  that,  tho  we  dis- 
believe Him  —  ignore  the  covenants  of  mercy  —  dis- 
regard His  invitations  to  accept  Him  and  be  saved,  re- 
ject His  council  against  ourselves,  despise  Him  and 
harden  our  hearts  against  Him,  still  from  the  Cross  of 
Calvary  He  compels  all  men  everywhere,  to  consider 
His  person  and  His  claims,  whether  they  believe  or 
blaspheme.  Thru  His  lifting  up,  all  men  are  made  to 
feel  the  magnetic  force  of  His  divine  personality.  No 
man  can  listen  to  the  story  of  His  death  without  being 
drawn  to  Him.  It  not  infrequently  occurs,  that  per- 
sons who  feel  no  interest  in  the  salvation  of  their 
souls  are  suddenly  moved  to  deep  penitence,  and  are 
brought  into  reverent  contrition  before  Him.  And 
others  who  listen  to  the  same  sermon  are  made  to  blas- 
pheme and  revile  the  Cross,  with  its  doctrine  of  blood ; 
nevertheless,  it  is  true  that  Christ  has  exercised  a 
compelling  power  on  both  classes.  The  one  is  laved, 
and  the  other  leavened,  by  the  blood.    Happy  are  they, 

[3] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

who  are  cleansed  from  all  their  defilements,  in  the 
royal  bath  of  heaven's  crimson  fountain. 

^^  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Inunanuel's  veins, 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains.'' 

The  Sinner's  Ransom 

He  died  the  just  for  the  unjust!  The  law  was 
perfect  and  in  order  to  meet  and  satisfy  its  inexorable 
demands,  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  spotless  and  in- 
corruptible sacrifice.  If  Jesus  had  inherently  or  by 
practice,  or  had  retained  in  His  humanity,  the  least 
taint  of  original  sin.  He  could  not  have  fulfilled  div- 
ine requirement,  as  expressed  thru  the  law  as  our 
holy,  all-sufficient  substitute.  But  he  is  inherently 
holy  and  spotlessly  pure  in  nature,  word  and  deed. 
For  thirty-odd  years  He  staggered  along  His  weary 
way  of  suffering,  mistreatment  and  neglect,  under  the 
heart-crushing  burden  of  the  accumulated  sins  of 
ages,  then,  finally  bowing  His  benign  head  to  receive 
a  crown  of  thorns,  as  the  token  of  the  world's  apprec- 
iation,  and  arrayed  in  a  mock  robe.  He  was  led  like  a 
common  criminal  to  the  place  of  torture,  and  hellish 
execution.  See  the  glorious  Monarch  of  heaven  die. 
On  either  side,  two  thieves  pay  the  penalty  for  their 
crimes.  How  wickedness  is  exalted  and  righteousness 
debased!  Roman  centurion,  Greek  philosopher,  Jew- 
ish rabbi  and  the  vilest  of  earth's  depraved  children, 
extend  the  hand  of  fellowship  and  uniting  in  an  effort 

[4] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

to  rid  the  world  of  the  best  MAN  that  ever  lived  in  it, 
they  rejoice  to  see  Him  die.  As  the  innocent  blood  of 
the  harmless  Christ  flowing  from  cruel  wounds,  stains 
the  cross  and  incarnadines  the  earth,  insatiate  fiends 
propose  a  cup  of  victory,  to  ''The  Prince  of  Dark- 
ness;" and  offering  an  oblation  to  death,  they  make 
league  with  hell,  and  when  the  dying  Jesus  bows  His 
noble  head  upon  His  spotless  bosom,  and  gives  up  the 
ghost  in  obedience  to  the  Will  of  His  Father,  their 
shout  of  momentary  triumph  rends  the  vaulted 
heavens,  and  resounds  to  the  lowest  depths  of  a  rayless 
hell,  where  fallen  angels  creep  like  hated  vipers,  loath- 
ing themselves,  and  despising  the  leprous  garments, 
that  remind  them  continually  of  a  lost  heaven,  and 
inglorious  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  guardian  angels, 
set  for  the  defense  and  honor  and  dignity  of  Jehovah 's 
vast  domain.  How  pandemonium  exults  as  the  "Law- 
ful Captive,"  delivered  for  the  sins  of  men  is  led, 
bound  like  Samson  at  Gaza,  into  the  presence  of  His 
enemies!  The  haughty  Prince  of  Hades  takes  his 
throne.  Wliat  a  roar  of  malicious,  vindictive  triumph 
rings  from  the  hoarse-throated  demons  of  the  abyss, 
when  Jesus  stoops  to  taste  the  cup  of  eternal  torment ! 
This  is  the  supreme  test  upon  which  hangs  the  destiny 
of  all  created  things  or  beings.  He  must  taste  death 
in  the  sense  of  comprehending  the  real,  actual  mean- 
ing of  eternal  torment.  This  I  believe  Jesus  did.  He 
became  our  vicarious  Mediator  thru  death.  By  no 
other  means  would  it  have  been  possible  for  Him  to 
meet  all  legal  obligations,  as  our  Substitute.    The  law 

[5] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

demands  eternal  punishment  for  sin,  hence  Jesus  sat- 
isfied in  His  sufferings  the  very  last  demand  of  it  "  for 
us."  He  became  sin  for  us.  He  became  responsible 
for  our  sins  to  His  father  under  law ;  therefore,  right- 
eousness is  imputed  to  us  thru  faith.  His  death  makes 
atonement  accessible  to  us,  and  makes  possible  a  per- 
sonal faith  that  over-leaps  the  ages,  bringing  us  into 
fellowship  with  God;  it  turns  upon  the  penitent  soul 
the  light  of  immortal  hope  and  the  dream  of  eternal 
life  is  realized  thru  the  merits  of  the  Christ  of  the 
Bible.  He  must  therefore  die,  suffer;  in  fact,  take  the 
full  penalty  of  our  judgment,  that  we,  upon  the  merits 
of  His  atoning  blood,  might  obtain  remission  and  be 
saved  thru  His  life.  "Were  He  still  the  victim  of  hell's 
diabolical  plot  to  destroy  Him,  there  would  not  be  the 
least  hope  of  pardon  for  men.  Yea,  heaven  would 
have  long  since  become  pandemonium  and  hell's  black 
borders  would  have  been  enlarged  to  make  room  for 
the  teeming  millions  of  slaughtered  souls,  that  would 
have  poured  into  it  like  a  flood  of  putrid  waters. 
Thank  God,  such  a  catastrophe  shall  never  occur.  Ah, 
what  new  commotion  is  this  that  stirs  the  pit  ?  Where 
is  the  Prince?  Where  are  his  terrible  cohorts?  The 
"Lawful  Captive"  has  broken  his  bones.  See!  He 
overturns  the  throne  and  binding  Satan,  He  relieves 
him  of  his  keys  and  hurls  him  back  in  defeat  upon  the 
sulphurous  streets  of  the  black  city  of  perdition.  He 
holds  dominion  over  the  damned!  He  wreaks  dire 
vengeance  upon  devils.  He  is  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth  and  the  invincible  conqueror    of    death    and 

[6] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

Hades.  He  waves  the  keys  in  the  faces  of  frightened 
demons,  and  coming  forth  shuts  the  gates  upon  them 
forever.  Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first  and  the  last  and  the 
Living  One  and  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore,  and  1 
have  the  keys  of  death  and  of  Hades. 

The  Incarnate  Son 

This  is  the  mystery  of  mysteries.  In  the  creation 
man  was  made  in  God's  image ;  in  the  incarnation  God 
was  made  in  man's  image.  The  relation  is  beyond 
human  ken.  It  was  a  custom  of  old  for  the  shepherds 
to  clothe  themselves  with  sheep  skins  to  be  more  pleas- 
ing to  the  sheep,  so  God  clothed  Himself  in  human 
flesh,  incorporating  every  element  of  human  nature, 
excepting  sin,  that  the  divine  nature  might  be  more 
pleasing  to  us.  Some  one  has  said:  "thru  the  lantern 
of  Christ's  humanity,  we  may  behold  the  light  of 
Deity  shining !  Incarnation  is  the  sackcloth  of  Deity, 
but  Jesus  did  not  disdain  to  wear  the  badge  of  mourn- 
ing nor  was  He  ashamed  to  take  the  body  of  flesh  — 
token  of  humiliation  —  for  our  sakes  and  the  glory  of 
His  father.  I  look  upon  it  as  being  the  most  compas- 
sionate provision  of  the  Holy  Trinity  for  the  salvation 
of  our  fallen  and  ruined  race.  The  scriptural  state- 
ment, tho  brief,  is  sufficiently  plain  to  justify  our  be- 
lief of  the  doctrine.  Among  the  great  array  of  divine 
passages  unfolding  the  glorius  teaching,  the  one  from 
Paul  is  enough  for  our  present  purpose,  viz ;  "  God  was 
in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself."     I 

[7] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

understand  the  Apostle  to  mean  that  the  three  persons 
composing  the  God-head,  were  harmoniously  cooperat- 
ing thru  Christ,  being  united  in  a  form  of  flesh  —  a 
human  body  representative  of  a  race  of  sinless  men, 
that  will  inherit  an  incorruptible,  perfect,  deathless 
immortality  in  future  ages.  In  Adam,  our  federal 
head,  divine  ideals  are  manifest,  even  in  our  fallen 
state  we  see  the  eternal  purpose  of  our  creator  to  prod- 
uce a  race  subject  to  natural  environments,  yet  im- 
mortal—  changeable,  yet  having  the  promise  of 
changelessness  —  with  whom  sin  is  temporarily  ident- 
ified, but  the  last  trace  of  it  is  to  be  removed  from  the 
universe  and  its  every  stain  cleansed,  leaving  us  as 
pure,  perfect  and  spotless  thru  a  second  Adam,  who 
became  our  personal  substitute,  viz;  the  incarnate 
Christ.  Thus  the  purpose  of  God  in  the  creation  of 
men  is  fully  restored  and  the  divine  ideal  brought  to 
pass  in  the  re-adjustment  of  the  disorganized  elements 
of  the  human  economy,  and  the  harmonious  blending 
of  soul  and  body  in  a  glorified  form.  Incarnation, 
therefore,  serves  a  divine  purpose  that  could  not  have 
been  accomplished  thru  any  other  means,  instrument- 
ality or  agency,  except  thru  the  Son  God  —  and  let 
it  here  be  specially  emphasized  —  Jesus  was  the  ONXiY 
Son  that  God  had.  Adam  disobeyed  Him  and  became 
an  out-cast  and  his  progeny  passed  under  sin;  hence 
so  far  as  the  human  race  and  all  created  beings  were 
concerned,  God  was  childless  and  the  human  race  were 
orphans.  The  entrance  of  sin  polluted  human  nature 
and  divorced  the  world  from  God.    It  was  in  darkness 

[8] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

■ — lost  —  and  there  was  no  acceptable  representative 
of  the  race  to  be  found,  who  could  mediatorily  restore 
man  to  the  favor  of  God,  because  all  had  "passed 
under  sin ' '  and  the  moral  law  —  the  law  of  Moses  — 
the  eternal  law  of  the  ages,  the  only,  greatest  most  bene- 
ficent rule  for  the  government  of  men  and  angels,  that 
God  ever  gave,  had  been  flagrantly  violated ;  therefore, 
God  in  righteous  anger,  flashed  the  judgment  of  wrath 
in  the  face  of  a  ruined  world  and  forbade  its  return  to 
Him.  Strange  as  it  may  at  first  appear  to  be,  it  is  an 
indisputable  fact,  that  the  universal  ruin  and  sinful- 
ness of  humanity  provides  for  the  necessity  of  the  In- 
carnation of  Jesus,  ethically  speaking.  The  purpose 
of  the  creation  included  the  purpose  of  incarnation. 
Incarnation  manifests  an  eternal  counsel  of  God,  ir- 
resDCctive  of  the  contingency  of  sin  and  the  purpose 
of  redemption.  There  was  no  metaphysical  necessity, 
but  a  purely  ethical  necessity,  for  the  incarnation  of 
the  perfect  God.  This  view  does  militate  against  the 
idea  of  ''free  grace,"  because  redemption  thru  the 
''Son  of  God"  is  not  an  after-thought  or  expedient  of 
grace,  but  to  be  provided  for,  and  made  possible  in 
the  eternal  purpose  of  creation.  Not  only  in  the 
divine  idea  of  creation  was  sin  rendered  possible,  but 
also  redemption  thru  Him,  who  is  the  completion  and 
goal  of  creation.  Then  is  it  not  true  that  the  world 
was  made  capable  of  redemption  in  the  same  thought 
and  purpose  that  it  was  made  capable  of  sinning  ?  The 
incarnation  then,  becomes  a  central  and  essential  fact 
in  our  theodicy.    All  of  God's  ways  from  the  begin- 

[9] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

ning  lead  up  to  Christ.  Recent  theology  lays  more 
stress  upon  the  cosmical  relations  of  incarnation.  The 
old  truth  of  the  natural  headship  has  a  large  place 
and  a  new  significance  in  view  of  modern  theories  of 
the  origin  and  unity  of  creation.  The  whole  universe 
was  created  for  Christ,  thru  whom  all  things  shall  at 
last  be  made  subject  to  the  Father,  that  God  may  be 
all  in  all.  The  incarnation  then,  is  the  process  of 
union  of  two  natures  —  a  divine  and  a  human  nature. 
''The  Word  was  made  flesh,"  says  the  scriptures  and 
this  becoming  flesh,  was  real  at  the  nativity.  The 
birth  of  Jesus  was  the  moment  of  the  first  actual, 
real,  incarnation.  It  was  begun  in  a  manger,  but 
completed  on  a  throne.  Jesus  was  made  perfect  thru 
suffering,  because  His  life  was  necessary  to  the  per- 
fection of  His  person,  as  Redeemer.  Jesus  Christ  did 
assume  the  true  and  perfect  nature  of  man,  in  a  per- 
sonal union  with  His  divine  nature,  and  still  remains 
true  God  and  real  man,  in  one  person  for  ever.  Hence 
the  leading  facts  in  the  incarnation  of  Christ  are  the 
following,  viz;  (1)  It  was  not  a  change  in  the  nature 
of  the  Trinity  nor  of  the  relation  of  One  to  the  other 
Tivo  Persons  composing  it.  (2)  The  hirth  of  Christ 
making  incarnation  possible,  was  not  the  beginning  of 
anything,  except  the  manifestation  of  God-head  in  a 
new  relation  to  mankind;  hence  it  was  only  necessary 
to  the  accomplishment  of  an  external  purpose  to  re- 
store man  to  the  favor  of  God  thru  personal,  eternal 
and  inseparable  contact  and  union  ivith  Him.  But 
the  pre-existence  of  Christ  was  absolutely  necessary 

[10] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

—  so  much  so,  that  His  incarnation  was  wholly  con- 
tingent upon  His  eternal  relation  to  the  Trinity  as 
being  the  ''Son  of  God." 

The  sonship  of  Jesus  is  co-extensive  with  the  God- 
head. In  the  ninth  chapter  of  Isa.,  the  relation  be- 
tween the  sonship  on  the  divine  side  and  sonship  on  the 
human  side  is  clearly  defined,  and  it  is  said,  "as  a 
Son  he  was  given,  as  a  child  He  was  born. ' '  The  idea 
that  divine  sonship  could  be  produced  through  an  act 
of  creation  or  of  ordinary  generation  is  monstrously 
absurd.  The  divine  sonship  of  Jesus  is  eternal  and  it 
could  not  be  created  any  more  than  the  self-existent 
Creator  could  produce  himself,  therefore  Jesus  must 
necessarily  have  possessed  an  uncreated  and  self -exist- 
ent relationship,  as  a  divine  Son  of  God ;  otherwise,  it 
would  have  been  impossible  for  Him  to  have  entererl 
into  the  humble  relation  as  the  "Son  of  man"  becom- 
ing the  actual  and  personal  human  representative  of 
man  as  "a  child  born."  Christ  is  the  marvel  of  mar- 
vels. C.  H.  Spurgeon  says:  "Consider  His  eternal 
existence,  begotten  of  his  Father  from  before  all 
worlds,  being  of  the  same  substance  with  His  Fath- 
er: begotten,  not  made,  co-equal,  co-eternal,  in  every 
attribute  very  God  of  very  God.  Remember  that 
He  who  became  an  infant  of  a  span  long,  was  no  less 
than  the  King  of  ages,  the  everlasting  Father,  who  was 
from  eternity  and  is  to  be  to  all  eternity.  The  divine 
nature  of  Christ  is  indeed  wonderful.  Just  think  for 
a  moment,  how  much  interest  clusters  around  the  life 
of  an  old  man.    Those  of  us  who  are  but  children  in 

[11] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

years,  look  up  to  Him  with  wonder  and  astonishment, 
as  He  tells  us  the  varied  stories  of  the  experience  thru 
which  he  has  passed.  How  brief  it  appears  when 
compared  with  the  life  of  the  tree  that  sheltered  Him. 
It  existed  long  before  that  old  man's  father  crept,  a 
helpless  infant  into  the  world.  But  what  is  the  his- 
tory of  the  human  race,  compared  with  the  creation? 
and  what  is  the  history  of  the  creation  compared  to  the 
age  of  the  angel?"  They  could  tell  you  of  the  day 
when  they  saw  this  world  wrapped  in  swaddling 
bands  of  mist  —  when,  like  a  new-born  infant,  the 
last  of  God 's  offspring,  it  came  forth  from  him  and  the 
morning  stars  sang  together  and  the  Sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy.  But  what  is  the  history  of  the  angel 
that  excelleth  in  strength,  compared  with  the  history 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  The  Angel  is  but  of  yester- 
day, and  knoweth  nothing;  Christ  the  Eternal  One, 
charges  even  his  angels  with  folly,  and  looks  upon 
them  as  ministering  spirits,  that  come  and  go  at  His 
good  pleasure.  ' '  By  Him  all  things  were  made ;  and 
without  Him  was  not  anything  made  that  was  made. ' ' 
Incarnation  represents  the  lowest  stage  of  life  to 
which  divinity  may  be  extended  in  association  with 
humanity.  But  I  do  not  believe  in  a  humanized  God, 
neither  do  I  believe  in  a  deified  human.  Jesus,  in 
His  divine  nature  has  continually  existed.  He  humb- 
ly died  in  His  perfect  humanity,  for  imperfect  human 
beings.  Divinity  suffered  for  man,  but  did  not  die  for 
him.    Christ  lived  in  a  separate  state  during  the  inter- 

[12] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

val  between  his  death  and  resurrection.     "I  am  He 
that  liveth  and  was  dead." 

The  Exalted  Christ 

Jesus  is  enthroned  above  all  the  powers  of  earth 
and  hell.  He  holds  the  reins  of  authority  and  power 
in  His  hands.  He  has  the  disposal  of  all  judgments, 
and  may,  without  contravening  His  authority,  pass 
arbitrary  condemnation  upon  fallen  angels  and  rebel- 
lious men.  He  holds  the  destiny  of  every  creature  for 
weal  or  woe,  as  a  vested  and  non-transferable  right. 
Whatsoever  the  Son  doeth  in  heaven  or  hell  or  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  has  the  guaranteed  sanction 
of  the  "Father  of  lights."  He  that  consecrated  him- 
self as  the  Lamb  of  Calvary,  is  exalted  to  the  high 
throne  of  heaven  and  will  appear  at  the  judgment  as 
the  "Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  —  a  Lamb  of 
wrath,"  to  take  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not 
God.  Let  me  present  to  your  imagination  this  picture. 
Behold  the  transcendant  glory !  The  majesty  of 
Kings  is  swallowed  up !  The  pomp  of  empires  dis- 
solves like  the  white  mist  before  the  morning  sun ;  the 
brightness  of  assembled  armies  is  eclipsed.  He  in  Him- 
self is  brighter  than  the  sun,  and  more  terrible  than 
an  army  with  banners.  Before  Him,  all  the  mighty 
princes,  the  glorious  kingdoms,  whose  power  is  felt 
and  feared  thru  the  whole  earth,  shall  bow  in  His 
presence  and  "confess  that  he  is  the  Christ  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father ! "    At  that  period  of  woeful 

[13] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

catastrophe  for  the  Gentile  world  powers,  our  glori- 
fied humanity  shall  receive  an  abiding  impress  of  the 
seal  of  heaven,  bedecked  with  every  beauty,  and  every 
splendor,  befitting  the  heir  of  an  immortal  crown,  — 
the  tenant  of  eternal  mansions  and  celestial  scenery, 
everywhere  revealing  to  the  eye,  in  living  myrioramic 
pictures,  the  combined  magnificence  of  all  the  worlds 
of  God.  Mortality  will  be  made  immortal  and  swal- 
lowed up  of  life  and  the  heirs  of  redemption  will  be 
transferred  from  the  terrestial  and  finite,  to  the  cel- 
estial and  infinite  sphere  of  immortality  and  glorifica- 
tion. The  august  vision  makes  us  tremble  as  we  gaze, 
and  the  sublimest  reach  of  human  thought,  can  only 
point  —  and  but  feebly  too  —  to  its  deep  foundations 
and  God-built  stories  —  its  rainbow  coverings  and 
sunlike  splendors  —  walled  with  adamant  and  paved 
with  sapphire,  crowned  with  the  redeemer,  and  God  in 
the  midst.  The  high  circuit  of  eternity,  the  scene  of 
improvement,  and  boundless  roll  of  ages  —  the  only 
key  to  the  evolution  of  un-ending  wonders. 

•'There  is  no  death;  the  stars  go  down 
To  rise  upon  some  far  shore, 
And  bright  in  heaven's  jeweled  crown 
To  shine  for  evermore.'' 


[14] 


CHAPTER  II 

The  Great  Commission 

Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost :  Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you :  and,  lo,  I  am  with 
you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  Amen. 
Math.  28:  19,  20. 

The  world  is  made  up  of  harmonious  antagon- 
isms. Natural  life  unfolds  itself  in  form  and  matter, 
in  root  and  top,  in  soul  and  body ;  hence  there  appear 
to  be  many  contradictions,  but  when  we  separate  the 
apparent  incongruous  elements  and  subject  them  to  a 
critical  analysis,  we  are  agreeably  surprised  to  find 
that  the  symmetry  and  harmonious  arrangement  of 
the  universe,  in  this  blending  of  incompatible  ele- 
ments, must  be  secured.  Variety  prevents  monotony 
and  promotes  aestheticism.  It  takes  the  scientific 
knowledge  of  the  chemist  to  extract  the  medicinal 
qualities  of  nature's  plants,  and  the  superior  wisdom 
of  the  botanist  to  trace  the  germinal  roots  of  each,  but 
God  has  so  constructed  His  world  as  to  hold  both  the 
learned  and  unlearned,  entranced  by  its  grandeur  and 
beauty. 

Thus  the  rich  history  of  human  life  has  a  bounti- 
ful fullness  of  antagonisms.     Mortal,  yet  immortal; 

[15] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

weak,  tho  possessing  almost  infinite  strength;  dying 
but  living  forever,  we  are  made  to  tremble  before  the 
august  presence  of  Jehovah,  who  girdeth  us  with  His 
power  and  doeth  whatsoever  He  willeth  to  do  among 
the  armies  of  the  nations. 

I  am  sure  that  you  have  been  forcibly  impressed 
with  the  distinctness  and  importance  of  the  four  an- 
tagonistic principles  in  primitive  history  that  pre- 
cedes Christianity,  viz :  the  individual,  the  psychologi- 
cal, the  ethnological  and  the  economic.  With  Chris- 
tianity itself,  there  appear  four  new  antagonisms, 
which  indeed  previously  existed,  tho  not  in  the  en- 
larged sense  in  which  they  at  present  occur,  —  hence 
the  individual  is  absorbed  by  the  organic,  the  ethno- 
logical, by  the  social,  the  psychological,  by  the  allegori- 
cal and  the  economic  by  the  cosmical. 

Hence  the  finished  revelation  of  God,  as  it  is 
presented  within  the  pages  of  this  precious  Book,  in- 
dicates a  divine  unity  in  design.  Every  incident  of 
inspired  and  profane  history  very  forcibly  manifests 
the  one  stupendous  and  eternal  fact  of  creation,  re- 
demption, reason  and  revelation,  viz :  that  God,  as  the 
moral  governor  of  the  universe,  in  His  over-ruling 
providence,  so  directs,  guides  and  manipulates  the 
affairs  of  men  and  nations,  as  to  accomplish  His  ex- 
pressed purpose  to  re-adjust  society,  eliminate  sin 
from  the  human  economy  by  redeeming  the  individual 
thru  the  substitutionary  sacrifice  of  Jesus.  Thus  every 
occurrence,  no  matter  how  apparently  insignificant  — 
even  the  sparrow  that  flutters  there  among  the  daisies 

[16] 


THE    GREAT    COMMISSION 

in  the  throes  of  death  —  the  crawling  worm,  or  insect 
that  was  destroyed  by  your  careless  tread  as  you  go  to 
a  place  of  business  or  worship  —  the  opening  of  Jew- 
ish sanctuaries,  whose  altars  run  red  with  the  blood  of 
slaughtered  animals  —  the  elevation  of  struggling 
empires  and  debasement  of  magnificent  monarchies  — 
the  appalling  tragedy  of  calvary  —  the  establishment 
of  the  church  and  the  shedding  of  martyr  blood  —  in 
fact,  no  incident  that  comes  within  the  range  of  our 
world's  history  nor  the  vast  immeasurable  eternity 
that  rolls  before  the  throne  of  God,  with  the  consum- 
mation of  redemption  and  the  coming  of  Christ  to 
judgment,  contributes  to  the  same  grand,  all-absorbing 
and  incomprehensible  end. 

According  to  Isaiah  the  scriptures  present  God 
(1)  as  the  God  of  history;  (2)  as  the  God  of  mystery. 

Universality  of  the  Gospel 

''Go  ye  into  all  the  world." 

The  gospel  is  specially  adapted  to  supply  the 
spiritual  demands  of  all  the  tribes  and  races  of  men 
under  heaven.  Every  condition  of  human  life,  from 
the  worst  to  the  most  favorable;  from  the  lowest  to 
the  highest,  is  fully  met  and  abundantly  provided  for 
in  the  Gospel  of  Peace.  And  furthermore,  it  is  the 
palladium  of  civilization.  I  firmly  believe  that  the 
greatness  of  our  glorious  Republic  is  due  largely  to 
the  love  and  veneration  of  our  people  for  the  Word  of 
God,  and  its  moral  influence  upon  the  public  con- 
science. 

[17] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

The  foundations  of  this  mighty  nation  were  dedi- 
cated in  a  spirit  of  divine  reverence  and  adoration  for 
the  Bible,  and  the  sacrificing  devotion  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  shapes  religious  sentiment,  and  their  exam- 
ples of  heroic  consecration  and  unswerving  fidelity  to 
the  truth,  presides  like  a  guardian  angel  over  the  des- 
tiny of  our  civil  and  religious  institutions. 

Starting  at  Jerusalem  (to  the  Jew  first)  in  the 
determination  of  the  Master,  it  was  destined  to  flow 
like  a  river  of  life,  bringing  spiritual  sustenance  and 
redeeming  virtue  to  those  who  ''sit  in  darkness  and 
the  shadow  of  death." 

The  gospel  is  intensely  personal.  It  deals  with 
the  individual  upon  the  basis  of  his  own  responsibility, 
holding  him  to  account  for  his  own  sins,  not  another 's, 
presenting  Jesus  as  his  only  mediator  thru  whom  he 
may  come  to  God  and  find  pardoning  favor.  Thus 
the  gospel  singles  us  out  from  the  rest  of  mankind  and 
deals  with  us,  just  as  if  we  were  the  only  creatures  of 
the  kind  in  existence.  Accordingly  it  raises  a  man 
above  the  conception  of  a  representative  of  His  genius, 
the  endless  difference  of  individualities  being  sustain- 
ed (not  obliterated)  in  the  great  antagonism  of  crea- 
tive spirits  and  receptive  communities.  The  gospel 
therefore,  is  world-wide  and  absolutely  necessary  to 
the  elevation,  classification  and  establishment  of  the 
individual  in  his  proper  sphere. 

Some  would-be  religion  founder  may  object  to  my 
position,  but  suffice  it  to  say  in  passing,  that  there  is 
as  much  difference  between  man  and  man,  as  there  is 

[18] 


THE    GREAT    COMMISSION 

between  the  mighty  cedar  and  the  dwarf-fir  of  the 
heath;  between  the  heaven-reaching  palm  and  the 
little  holly  in  the  forest. 

Law  and  the  Gospel 

Upon  this  head  a  few  words  of  comparison  will 
suffice.  The  law  is  just,  holy,  good.  It  is  the  synopsis 
of  the  entire  system  of  divine  jurisprudence.  It  binds 
all  creatures  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest-man  and 
Arch-Angel  to  the  solemn  obligation  to  serve  God  and 
live  righteously.  Unlike  the  gospel,  it  deals  strictly 
with  transgression,  acts  of  sin.  It  continually  em- 
phasises those  deeds  of  violence,  that  come  from  a 
wicked  heart,  but  suggests  no  remedy  whereby  we 
may  be  rid  of  our  depraved  nature.  Magnifying  jus- 
tice, it  threatens  us  with  the  thunderbolt  of  wrath. 
Faith  is  not  comprehended  in  its  sphere  of  influence. 
It  bears  no  relationship  to  mercy.  Therefore  by  the 
"deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified."  But 
the  gospel  honors  the  demands  of  the  law  and  meets 
them  fully  and  completely  in  Christ  Jesus  who,  accept- 
ing voluntarily  the  judgment  of  law  and  dying  as 
man 's  substitute,  becomes  the  end  of  it  for  ' '  righteous- 
ness to  every  one  that  believed."  The  gospel  there- 
fore condemns  sin  and  lays  it  under  a  severer  judg- 
ment than  does  the  law,  but  it  also  offers  us  a  sure 
way  of  escape  from  present  and  past  sin.  And  though 
the  law  cannot  by  its  own  force  condemn  men,  neither 
can  it  deliver  them  from  sin.    When  the  sinner  turns 

[19] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

to  it  for  succor,  it  warns  him  away  saying:  ''Thou 
hast  sinned ! "  "  Thou  shalt  surely  die  ! "  Its  author- 
ity is  confined  chiefly  to  the  domain  of  external  ritual- 
ism. The  gospel  does  all  this  and  much  more,  in  that 
it  changes  the  nature  and  bringing  us  into  mysterious 
union  with  Christ,  sheds  abroad  in  us,  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  power  of  godliness,  enabling 
us  to  bear  the  peacable  fruit  of  righteousness  to  the 
glory  of  His  grace. 

The  gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 
The  law  is  the  power  of  God  unto  judgment.  The  law 
is  weak  through  fallen  human  nature,  its  ethical  de- 
mands making  our  sins  more  destructive,  and  our 
damnation  more  sure.  The  gospel  is  strong  through 
Jesus  the  sinless  God-man,  in  breaking  down  the 
strongholds  of  sin  and  saving  the  helpless  penitent 
from  the  snare  of  Satan. 

The  gospel  is  the  culminating  result  of  divine 
methods,  extending  through  past  ages  for  the  salvation 
of  men,  and  is  the  last  and  only  provision  of  mercy 
that  shall  ever  be  offered  to  our  degenerate  race. 

The  Divine  Instruments  of  Evangelism 

Jesus  lays  the  commission  upon  the  church  and 
says:  "Take  it  to  every  creature  under  the  whole 
heaven.  Ignore  all  social  and  political  boundaries. 
Walk  up  and  down  thru  the  world,  caring  for  the 
helpless  and  unfortunate,  providing  means  for  the  en- 
lightenment of  the  ignorant,  comfort  for  the  broken 

[20] 


THE    GREAT    COMI^nSSION 

hearted,  healing  for  the  sick  and  the  maimed,  and  sal- 
vation for  all. ' '  The  gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation.  There  are  many  missionary  means  and 
methods,  but  none  of  them  can  fill  the  sphere  occupied 
by  the  church  in  her  relation  to  world-wide  evangel- 
ization as  the  chief  executive,  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  "We  should  love  and  honor  the  blessed  church 
of  Christ  with  undying  devotion.  With  us  she  pos- 
sesses supreme  authority  and  non-transferable  sover- 
eignty, and  we  wait  humbly  at  her  shrine,  bathing  our 
souls  in  the  light  of  her  oracles,  covenanting  to  keep 
the  faith  for  which  she  stands ;  —  we  unreservedly 
accept  her  decree  and  cheerfully  bind  ourselves  to 
carry  out  all  her  policies  to  the  best  of  our  ability. 
The  church  is  the  most  important  and  useful  institu- 
tion in  the  world.  The  church  —  the  body  of  Christ  ^ 
is  incomparably  glorious  in  her  spiritual  equipment 
and  her  foundations  are  laid  in  the  depths  of  eternity 
and  it  shall  never  fall,  or  fail  in  the  accomplishment 
of  its  divine  mission  in  the  world.  It  is  the  light  of 
the  world  and  without  it  men  must  grope  in  darkness 
and  perish  without  the  knowledge  of  Jesus,  because  it 
is  through  the  church  that  Jesus  proposes  to  give  the 
gospel  of  hope  and  mercy  to  all  the  world.  The  law 
was  supported  and  maintained  by  institutions  adapted 
to  its  nature  and  ethical  demands,  viz :  The  temple  and 
its  institutional  service  and  every  item  of  Jewish 
ceremonial  worship  was  divinely  instituted,  and  pre- 
served by  Jehovah  until  the  time  had  arrived  for  the 
manifestation  of  Jesus  as  the  Savior  of  men.    And  it 

[21] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

was  not  removed  until  its  mission  had  been  accomp- 
lished. And  God  who  established  it,  fulfilled  the  high- 
est demand  of  its  ritual,  and  furnished  the  answer 
to  its  symbolism  through  the  death  of  his  own  son. 
God  gave  it,  and  He  removed  it,  to  make  way  for  the 
world-wide  extension  of  the  gospel  of  peace,  that  had 
been  promised  to  Abraham  in  the  covenant  of  univer- 
sal righteousness  and  mercy  that  remains  yet  to  be 
fulfilled.  The  law  had  its  organizations  in  the  temple 
and  sanctuary  of  Israel,  so  the  gospel  of  Christ  has 
for  its  principle  organ  of  propagation  and  distribu- 
tion, the  church  of  Jesus.  From  the  human  stand- 
point the  church  is  indestructible.  If  it  is  ever  re- 
moved or  destroyed,  the  God  who  constituted  it,  and 
gave  His  Son  to  be  its  royal  head,  must  do  it  himself. 
It  is  the  crowning  glory  of  all  nations.  Civiliza- 
tion is  an  abiding  compliment  to  its  divine  genius.  It 
has  come  down  to  us  from  a  remote  period  of  time 
hoary  with  antiquity.  It  has  withstood  the  revolu- 
tions of  time,  and  the  mutations  of  fortune  —  the  des- 
olating tread  of  ages  and  the  downfall  of  wicked  dyn- 
asties—  the  ravages  of  famine  and  the  wasting 
scourge  of  pestilence.  It  has  outlived  the  astrological 
lore  of  the  Chaldeans,  the  mythology  of  Greece  and 
the  Paganism  of  Ancient  Rome.  It  has  outlived  the 
ecclesiastical  and  political  convulsions  of  the  dark 
ages.  Its  weapons  of  warfare  are  not  carnal  nor  sen- 
sual nor  worldly,  but  spiritual,  and  whenever  it  has 
been  unjustly  smitten,  with  bleeding  hands  and  for- 
giving heart  it  has  offered  the  ''bread  of  life"  to  its 

[22] 


THE    GREAT    COMMISSION 

persecuter.  The  church  is  the  only  institution  that 
has  ever  existed  in  the  world  that  death  has  failed  to 
conquer.  From  Abel  down  to  the  present  time,  death 
has  held  high  carnival  in  our  world.  He  has  hollowed 
out  the  globe  and  filled  it  with  the  generations  ot 
past  ages.  Where  are  the  Antediluvians?  Where 
are  the  Patriarchs  ?  Where  are  the  builders  of  Babel 's 
tower?  Where  are  Rome's  Caesars  and  her  mighty 
legions?  Egypt's  thousands  and  Babylon's  millions j 
They  have  crumbled  into  dust,  but  the  church  moves 
forward  in  triumph,  marching  grandly  on  to  victor- 
ious conquest.  And  every  whither  the  mind  of  man  is 
turned,  for  contemplation  or  faith-inspiration,  there 
are  visible  multitudinous  evidences  of  her  miraculous 
achievements  in  the  spiritual  and  intellectual  realms. 
She  is  the  nursing  mother  of  the  poor,  the  widow,  the 
orphan,  the  unfortunate ;  the  leader  of  the  great  and 
the  teacher  of  all  the  world.  Institutions  of  learning, 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  fraternal  orders  organ- 
ized for  the  extension  of  reciprocal  fellowship,  among 
special  partisans,  benevolent  institutions  fostering  the 
Christian  spirit  of  the  ^'good  Samaritan"  and  upon 
whose  merciful  ministration  is  imposed  the  precious 
burdens,  that  come  from  broken  homes  or  dissolved 
family  ties,  the  unity  and  preservation  of  the  home, 
civic  reforms,  the  passage  of  just,  equitable  and  bene- 
volent laws  in  the  municipality,  state  or  nation,  the 
maintenance  of  human  freedom  and  the  ultimate  pre- 
servation of  democratic  ideals,  —  all  these  depend 
largely  upon  the  patronage  of  the  Church. 

[23] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

The  Two  Calls  of  the  Gospel 

*'0  how  unlike  the  complex  works  of  man, 
Heaven's  easy,  artless,  unencumbered  plan! 
No  meretricious  graces  to  beguile. 
No  clustering  ornaments  to  clog  the  pile; 
From  ostentation  as  from  weakness  free, 
It  stands  like  the  cerulean,  arch  we  see, 
Majestic  in  its  own  simplicity. 
Inscrib'd  above  the  portal,  from  afar 
Conspicuous,  as  the  brightness  of  a  star; 
Legible  only  by  the  light  they  give. 

Stand  the  soul-quickening  words  —  "Believe  and 
Live!"  God  made  man  in  His  image.  He  endowed 
him  with  the  noblest  attributes  of  soul  and  body  and 
mind,  creating  in  him  divinest  hopes,  placing  him 
amidst  environments  whose  physical  charms  lured 
Angels  from  heavenly  mansions — Eden  that  sacred 
spot,  where  first  rang  out  in  gentle  sj^mphonies  of 
life,  benedictions  of  mercy  and  sternest  rebukes  of 
wounded  love, — the  voice  of  the  eternal  Gold.  I 
like  to  think  of  human  nature  as  one  vast  temple, 
glorious  in  her  ruins.  Let  us  draw  the  curtain  for  a 
moment  upon  the  drama  of  life,  in  its  present  at- 
titude of  heartrending  tragedies,  soul  crushing  catas- 
trophies,  and  in  imagination  seek  the  silent  shades  of 
a  lost  paradise.  Here  the  scene  changes.  No  pen  can 
describe  this  picture.  No  eloquent  orator  can  do  it 
justice.  Time 's  early  morn  envelopes  us  in  swaddling 
bands  of  mist  crimsoned  with  the  light  of  dawn,  as  it 
steals  from  beyond  the  eastern  hills  in  glory.  Tree- 
top  warblers  make  the  welkin  ring  with  the  melody 
of  their  innocent  lay.     The  soul  is  transfixed  with 

[24] 


THE    GREAT    COMMISSION 

rapture.  The  heart  is  filled  with  joy  as  we  view 
with  entranced  vision  the  beatific  prospect,  the  tri- 
une God  sheds  the  halo  of  His  presence  upon  us;  the 
star-decked  gates  of  the  infant  creation  swing  wide 
to  make  way  for  the  coming  of  angelic  companions, 
and  billows  of  adoring  love  sweep  o'er  us.  We  close 
our  eyes  in  perfect  peace  and  fall  asleep  on  the  bosom 
of  the  infinite.  Human  nature,  the  culminating  work, 
the  supreme  product  of  divine  creative  genius,  stands 
forth  in  lofty  grandeur  sparkling  with  myriad  lights 
enkindled  upon  its  sinless  altars  by  its  Maker  and 
Builder,  eclipses  the  glory  of  the  garden  with  its  re- 
splendent beauty.  But  we  are  not  permitted  to 
slumber  long  in  blissful  repose  upon  the  bosom  of 
paternal  Diety.  A  sudden  convulsion  of  nature,  and 
we  are  awake  in  terror  to  a  realization  of  the  awful 
holocaust  that  wrenches  us  from  the  grasp  of  Him, 
whose  presence  is  our  life  and  joy.  The  secret  of 
this  awful  ruin  is  not  far  to  see.  Man  sinned.  God 
was  willfully  insulted.  He  withdrew  and  gave  the 
tempest  of  sin,  that  rose  from  hell,  the  right-of-way, 
and  human  nature  fell  before  its  destructive  blasts. 
The  source  of  human  nature  was  corrupted.  And 
in  the  breaking  up  of  the  divine  order,  its  spring  was 
transferred  from  the  glory-capped  hills  of  Zion  to 
the  valley  of  Hinnom  where  sin's  slain  carcases  rot  in 
eternal  misery.  Man  died  then  and  is  still  dead  under 
law.  But  God  remembered  us  in  great  mercy,  and  in 
order  to  relieve  us  from  the  results  of  sin,  and  cancel 
our  voluntary  transgressions.   He   devised  the  most 

[25] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

compassionate  and  merciful  method  for  our  redemp- 
tion that  his  loving,  broken  heart  could  originate.  He 
gave  us  His  son  as  a  peace-offering ;  His  only  son  as  a 
sacrifice  for  sin,  providing  a  means  for  the  com- 
munication of  the  story  of  His  death  for  all  people, 
in  every  age,  until  He  should  come  again.  The  gos- 
pel,— ^the  divine  promise  of  mercy,  like  a  star  flung 
from  heaven  into  the  bosom  of  the  enveloping  gloom, 
hangs  solitary  and  bright  upon  the  horizon  of  our 
darkened  world.  Its  five  points  luminous  with  hope 
for  lost  men,  cast  its  encrimsoned  rays  athwart  the 
benighted  pathway  of  men  today,  viz;  ''The  seed 
of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head."  As 
the  ages  passed,  star  after  star  of  prophecy  was  born 
and  types  and  emblems  of  promise  glittered  in  the 
ebon  vault  of  a  ruined  world,  until  for  very  multitude 
the  laughing  lightnings,  catching  the  voice  of  calvary 
and  the  light  of  hope  from  Joseph's  new  tomb,  has 
thundered  the  seven-hued  rainbow  of  mercy,  through 
the  accumulated  darkness  of  ages,  causing  abundant 
showers  of  sparkling  rays  of  grace  to  fall  upon  the 
abodes  of  disobedient  men.  From  the  beginning  of 
time  to  the  present  moment,  with  its  stupendous 
obligations,  it  has  strewn  the  sparkling  symbols  of 
love  upon  the  stream  of  time  and  planted  Forget-Me- 
Not's  of  love  upon  both  of  its  shadow-haunted  shores. 

^^The  gospel's  glorious  hope: 
Its  rule  of  purity,  its  eye  of  prayer, 
Its  feet  of  firmness,  on  temptation's  steep 
Its  bark  fails  not,  mid  the  storms  of  death. ' ' 

[26] 


THE    GREAT    COMMISSION 

Do  you  ask,  what  is  the  gospel  ?  It  is  divine  life  from 
God.  It  is  a  Christian  as  well  as  a  divine  life ;  a  life 
that  comes  from  Christ  as  our  Redeemer,  as  God-man 
and  Mediator.  It  is  a  pure  and  holy  life.  It  is  an 
active,  laborious,  and  fruitful  life.  It  is  a  generous 
life  that  disdains  littleness  in  human  character  and 
mean  things  in  human  conduct,  it  cannot  feed  upon 
earth  and  ashes.  It  is  a  devoted  life,  sacred  to  God 
in  Christ  Jesus.  In  a  word,  it  is  an  immortal,  eternal 
life.  Hence,  it  is  passing  strange  that  men  can  listen 
to  the  mere  recital  of  the  tragic  death  of  Jesus,  with- 
out being  melted  to  penitential  tears.  But  such  is 
the  case.  Men  visit  the  place  of  worship  every  Sab- 
bath and  hear  very  patiently  the  word  preached  by 
some  earnest  babbler ;  but  they  do  not  believe.  Why  ? 
Because  the  gospel  is  powerless  to  save  thru  the 
preacher.  He  extends  an  invitation  to  you,  to  accept 
Christ.  You  appreciate  it  but  do  not  heed  it.  You 
cannot.  This  result  is  characteristic  of  the  general 
call  of  the  gospel  which  is  to  the  whole  world.  But 
again  He  preaches  the  same  old  truth,  that  Jesus 
saves.  You  have  heard  it  oft-times  before.  You  are 
strongly  affected.  Your  soul  is  pierced  with  many 
sorrows.  Your  grief  is  unstayed.  Your  sins  roll  with 
crushing  force  upon  you.  You  are  comfortless,  for- 
lorn, miserable,  forsaken!  Ah!  This  is  the  special, 
effectual  call  of  the  gospel.  Resist  it  if  you  may  and 
as  you  will,  but  you  will  be  brought  to  terms  of  peace, 
and  you  will  sue  for  mercy  saying,  like  the  Publican 
of  old:  *'God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."     When 

[27] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

God  thus  comes  to  the  rescue  of  his  word,  the  hard- 
ened sinner  is  convicted,  the  penitent  saved  and  the 
prodigal  reclaimed.  It  is  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation. This  is  that  glorious  gospel  that  saves,  re- 
claims, sanctifies  and  preserves  men  in  the  way  of 
righteousness,  that  leads  to  glory  and  to  God.  Hence 
it  gives  us  great  joy  to  acknowledge  that  we  believe  it, 
admire  and  love  its  teachings,  more  than  the  gold  of 
Ophir  or  the  glittering  treasures  of  the  Indies. 

Universal  Peace 

Christianity  is  a  social  religion.  The  church  is 
the  only  distinct  fraternity  in  the  world.  Regenera- 
tion is  the  only  and  true  source  of  brotherhood.  The 
Holy  Spirit,  through  the  truth,  seeks  to  unite  the 
broken  fragments  of  society  in  an  indestructible  cove- 
nant of  unselfish  interest  and  love.  He  directs  us 
when  we  allow  Him  to  do  so,  in  a  course  of  pure  dis- 
interested service,  of  loving  sacrifice  and  self-denial. 
The  teaching  authority  of  the  church  is  strictly  super- 
vised by  Him.  He  is  the  minister  of  the  sanctuary, 
offering  the  sprinkling  of  Christ's  blood  for  the  heal- 
ing of  the  nations.  He  is  the  penitents'  effectual  ac- 
cess to  Jesus.  He  is  the  Christian's  unerring  Para- 
clete. Applying  the  preached  words  to  the  souls  of 
men  He  speaks  to  us  of  Jesus,  peace,  universal 
brotherhood,  and  the  Sabbath  of  eternal  rest,  —  of  that 
day  of  glory  and  emancipation  for  the  earth-cloyed 
hosts  of  redemption,  when  wars  will  cease,  —  all  strife 

[28] 


THE    GREAT    COMMISSION 

will  end  and  the  reunited  members  of  our  race,  re- 
stored to  the  divine  favor  of  our  heavenly  father, 
thru  the  second  Adam,  shall  walk  in  the  integrity  of 
our  spirit-filled  hearts  and  dwell  in  peace  and  security 
forever.     Soul  transporting  prospect! 

You  say  I  dream.  Is  it  an  utopian  vision  ?  Nay, 
brother!  The  most  exaggerated  description  of  the 
latter  day  glory,  is  abundantly  sustained  by  the  word 
of  God.  The  impending  storm  of  judgment  gathers 
like  a  pall  of  doom  on  the  brow  of  time's  last  day. 
The  world  is  hushed  and  silent,  being  terror-stricken. 
Men 's  hearts  fail  for  fear,  —  looking  for  the  desolating 
holocaust  that  is  coming  upon  them.  The  storm  of 
wrath  breaks  in  fury  o'er  the  world.  Anti-Christ 
and  his  wicked  hosts  lift  their  hands  in  horror  and  beg 
the  rocks  and  hills  to  fall  on  them,  that  they  may  be 
concealed  from  the  ''face  of  him  that  sits  on  the 
throne."  The  lightnings  of  vengeance  cleave  the 
moral  darkness  of  the  world  with  forked  flame.  Now 
the  dark  cloud  rolls  muttering  towards  Jerusalem  and 
casts  a  shadow  of  mourning  and  lamentation  upon 
the  souls  of  Anti-Christian  hosts,  gathered  in  the 
valley  of  Megiddo.  Avenging  angels  descend  upon 
the  hills  of  Judea,  once  again  in  the  special  honor  of 
Jesus,  and  with  drawn  swords  and  upon  the  authority 
of  Jehovah  to  wreak  eternal  vengeance  upon  the  op- 
ponents of  the  cross,  eliminate  sin  and  drive  Satan 
from  the  world.  And  now  the  judgment  of  nations 
is  ended  and  the  shadows  of  accumulated  ages  of  sin- 
ful dominion  pass  away,  and  the  ''Son  of  righteous- 

[29] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

ness  rises  upon  the  scenes  of  desolation  and  ruin  with 
healing  in  his  beams.  The  glorified  forms  of  countless 
millions,  who  were  redeemed  by  His  grace  and  who 
now  abide  in  His  presence,  shine  resplendent  with  a 
lustrous  beauty  that  eclipses  the  sun,  and  drives  every 
shadow  from  the  face  of  the  world.  In  that  day  re- 
deemed souls  will  shine  brighter  than  the  stars  and 
every  floweret  and  shrub,  leaf  of  tree,  blade  of  grass 
hung  with  a  reflected  light  of  the  glorified  saint,  will 
shine  brighter  than  the  cluster  of  jewels  in  Gol- 
conda's  crown.  The  music  of  a  lost  Paradise  will  be 
restored  to  nature,  and  the  birds  of  the  earth  will  re- 
new their  melodies  and  the  beasts  of  the  fields,  enchant- 
ed by  the  magnetic  influence  of  the  ''Sons  of  God,'' 
will  enter  the  carnival  of  joy  and  peacefully  abide 
in  the  presence  of  the  triumphant  Jesus.  The  flowers 
of  the  meadow  will  become  intoxicated  with  their  own 
fragrance.  I  look  forward  to  that  time  with  joy  and 
on  the  wings  of  imagination  I  am  transported  to 
the  far-future  scene,  and  behold  as  through  the  glass 
of  special  inspiration,  the  irrisate  glory  that  belts  the 
world;  and  my  heart  beats  high  with  hope  that  in 
the  coming  years  every  shadow  that  falls  athwart  the 
souls  of  men,  and  every  storm  that  hangs  upon  the 
horizon  of  nations,  shall  flee  away  and  the  cataclysms 
of  war,  disruptions  of  nations,  and  confusion  of  heart 
and  the  distrust  of  our  kind  will  flee  away  —  that  the 
time  shall  come  when  the  human  race  shall  be  one 
universal  brotherhood  and  the  gospel  of  Jesus  shall 
have  its  triumph  in  the  salvation  of  countless  millions 

[30] 


THE    GREAT    COMMISSION 

— when  there  shall  be  neither  a  millionaire  nor  a 
mendicant,  neither  a  master  nor  a  servant — but  all 
shall  be  equal,  blest,  god-like  and  rich  in  the  glorious 
immortality  vouchsafed  us  in  the  gospel. 

^'Oh!  let  me  glow  beneath  those  sacred 
beams, 
After  Tho^^  bathe  me  in  those  silver  streams; 
To  Thee  alone  my  sorrows  shall  appeal; 
Hath  earth  a  wound  too  hard  for  heaven 
to  heair' 


31] 


CHAPTER  III 

God's  Greatest  Creative  Act: 
A  Man 

*'How  poor,  how  rich,  how  object,  how  august, 
How  complicate,  how  wonderful  is  man! 
How  passing  wonder  He,  who  made  him  such! 
Who  centered  in  our  make  such  strange  extremes ! 

From   different   natures   marvelously  mixM, 
Connection  exquisite  of  distant  worlds! 
Distinguished  link  in  being's  endless  chain! 
Midway  from  nothing  to  the  Deity! 
A  beam  ethereal,  sullied  and  absorpt! 

Tho  sullied  and  dishonored,  still  divine! 
Dim  miniature  of  greatness  absolute! 
An  heir  of  glory!     A  frail  child  of  dust! 
Helpless  immortal!     Insect  infinite! 
A  worm!    A  God!" 

It  requires  the  work  of  a  Being  as  great  as  the 
Bible  represents  our  Creator  to  be,  to  make  man,  and 
no  being  less  than  God  could  have  produced  him.  I 
cannot  accept  the  Lyellian  theory  of  the  creation  of 
the  world  nor  the  Darwinian  theory  of  the  evolution 
of  man.  I  accept,  without  qualification,  the  monothe- 
ism of  both  Testaments.  God's  all-powerful  Word, 
His  oft-repeated  fiat:  "Let  there  be,"  is  represented  as 
having  called  all  individual  creations  into  being.  The 
enlightened  philosophy  of  the  present  day  recognizes 

[32] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

as  a  fact,  on  the  authority  of  revelation,  that  the  hu- 
man species  came  upon  this  planet  solely  in  virtue 
of  a  direct  act  of  creation  by  the  Almighty.  ''God 
created  man  in  His  own  image  —  in  the  image  oi 
God  created  He  him.  And  the  Lord  God  formed 
man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his 
nostrils  the  breath  of  life  and  man  became  a  living 
soul."  He  did  not  merely  possess  it,  he  became  it.  It 
was  his  proper  being ;  his  truest  self ;  the  man,  in  the 
man.  All  organized  beings  have  life  in  common,  each 
after  its  kind.  All  animals  in  common  with  man 
possess  life,  and  man  is  an  animal — the  highest  and 
noblest  of  all  animal  beings — but  he  is  more  than  an 
animal,  because  God  transferred  into  man  a  higher 
gift,  and  imbreathed  even  a  living — that  is,  self-sub- 
sisting— soul ;  a  soul  having  its  life  in  itself.  ' '  Thou 
hast  made  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  and  hast 
crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor."  Ps.  8:5.  Let 
this  fact  be  borne  in  mind  continually, — that  God 
is  the  author  of  all  things,  (''for  of  Him  and  thru 
Him  and  to  Him  are  all  things :  to  Him  be  glory  for- 
ever. Amen."  Ro.  II:  36),  but  that  He  created  the 
world  out  of  nothing  and  existence  out  of  non-exist- 
ence (Heb.  11:3,  Comp.  Ro.  4:17),  and  that  as  the 
sole  intermediate  agency  in  the  work  of  creation,  He 
does  not  name  any  mere  order  of  creature,  neither  a 
material  energy,  nor  supernatural  potency,  but  ex- 
clusively the  eternal  "Son  of  God,"  the  personal 
Word,  of  one  substance  with  the  Father,  and  so  really, 
in  a  personal  concrete  form  the  creative  "Let  there 

[33] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

be"  of  the  first  of  Genesis.  "In  the  beginning  was 
the  Word  and  the  Word  was  with  God  and  the 
Word  was  God.  All  things  were  made  by  Him  and 
without  Him  was  not  anything  made  that  was  made. 
In  Him  was  life ;  and  life  was  the  light  of  man. ' '  Jno. 
1:1-4.  There  is  a  difference  in  the  display  of  divine 
goodness  in  the  production  of  the  world  and  the  mak- 
ing of  man,  in  that,  when  God  made  the  world  He 
used  His  power,  but  when  He  made  man  He  used 
Himself — His  life — His  breath.  The  Bible  therefore 
says  that,  ''man  is  the  image  and  glory  of  God,  but 
the  woman  is  the  glory  of  the  man."  Shakespeare 
seems  to  catch  a  vision  of  the  divine  purpose  in  the 
creation  of  man,  and  rapturously  exclaims:  ''What  a 
piece  of  work  is  man!  How  noble  in  reason!  How 
infinite  in  qualities!  In  form  and  moving  how  ex- 
press and  admirable !  In  action  how  like  an  angel  1 
in  apprehension  how  like  a  God ! ' ' 
Let  us  consider  briefly, 

The  Formation  of  the  Human  Body, 

in  an  earnest  endeavor  to  answer  the  question:  "What 
is  man?"  Man  is  a  complex  being  in  his  unity.  In 
personality  he  is  one ;  in  substance  he  is  two ;  in  nature 
he  is  three.  He  is  in  no  sense  an  epitome  of  nature 
but  rather  the  reverse,  exhibiting  in  himself  the  high- 
est divine  ideal  that  it  was  possible  to  be  expressed 
thru  nature.  He  was  the  climax  of  creative  genius. 
In  his  person  he  is  one,  but  in  the  unity  of  his  per- 
sonality he  is  twofold  in  substance,  both  material  and 

[34] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

immaterial  and  threefold  in  nature,  having  a  body, 
soul  and  spirit.  The  body  is  the  lowest  part  of  man's 
nature  being  compounded  of  material  elements,  the 
base  of  which  is  dust.  It  is  composed  of  passive  and 
thoughtless  organs,  arranged  for  the  use  of  a  power 
or  powers  which  it  did  not  originate.  Yet  it  is  an 
essential  part  of  man's  nature  as  man,  and  without  it 
he  is  an  incomplete  personality,  being  merely  a  dis- 
embodied soul.  The  body  is  the  most  exquisitely  con- 
structed thing  in  the  material  world — the  most  won- 
derful of  all  chemical  compounds.  It  is  the  master- 
piece of  God's  terraqueous  workmanship.  All  chemi- 
cal elements  of  nature  exist  in  some  form,  in  the 
physical  structure  of  man.  He  is  "of  the  earth 
earthy."  He  is  an  abridged  universe.  Man  there- 
fore, unlike  all  other-  created  beings,  is  midway  be- 
tween two  worlds  and  in  his  tripartite  nature,  is  re- 
lated to  both — in  his  soul  nature,  to  the  invisible  and 
the  eternal,  and  in  his  physical  nature,  to  the  earth. 
Tho  he  is  finite  and  subject  to  change,  the  power  of 
the  infinite  is  strong  upon  him  and  endless  eternity 
is  held  in  his  small  nature.  Man  has  eternal  capaci- 
ties. He  is  the  miracle  of  mortality.  Gladstone  says : 
"Man  is  the  crowning  wonder  of  creation;  the  study 
of  his  nature  is  the  noblest  study  the  world  affords." 
The  inspired  Psalmist  acknowledged  that  the  omni- 
present Creator  provides  specially  for  the  best  interest 
of  the  race,  that  we  cannot  escape  His  presence  nor 
avoid  His  power  revealed  in  arbitrary  or  final  judg- 
ment; and  he  then  states  the  reason  why  God  is  so 

[35] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

deeply  interested  in  us :  "I  am  fearfully  and  wonder- 
fully made:  marvelous  are  thy  works;  and  that  my 
soul  knoweth  right  well.  My  substance  was  not  hid 
from  Thee,  when  I  was  made  in  secret,  and  curiously 
wrought  in  the  lowest  parts  of  the  earth.  Thine  eyes 
did  see  my  substance,  yet  being  unperfect;  and  in 
Thy  book  all  my  members  were  written,  which  in 
continuance  were  fashioned  when  as  yet  there  was 
none  of  them."  Ps.  139:14-16.  The  human  body  is 
one  of  the  profoundest  mysteries  in  the  universe. 
Philosophically  speaking,  it  is  a  world  in  miniature. 
Emerson  says:  "Man  is  a  piece  of  the  universe  made 
alive,"  and  Aristotle  struck  the  key-note  of  being 
when  he  said:  "Man  is  the  metre  of  all  things;  the 
hand  is  the  instrument  and  the  mind  is  the  form  of 
forms."  In  this  connection  it  will  be  pertinent  to 
the  question  under  consideration,  to  specifically  notice 
the  fact  that,  as 

A  Physical  Organism 

man  is  different  from  all  other  creatures.  "All  flesh 
is  not  the  same  flesh;  but  there  is  one  kind  of  flesh 
of  men,  another  flesh  of  beasts,  another  of  fishes  and 
another  of  birds."  I  Cor.  15:39.  Human  flesh  is 
different  in  form,  function  and  nature  from  all  other 
kinds  of  flesh.  There  is  only  one  respect  in  which 
it  can  be  identified  with  flesh  of  the  lower  animals, 
viz;  being  finite  and  mortal  it  is  subject  to  death  and 
tho  it  can  subsist  without  the  nourishment  of  animal 
flesh,  it  is  so  constructed  by  the  Creator  as  to  receive 

[36] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

strength  and  development  thru  the  use  of  it.  It  is 
specially  prepared  for  the  habitation  of  soul  and 
spirit.  Human  blood  —  ''the  life  of  the  body"  —  is 
unlike  the  blood  of  animals.  The  body,  tho  composed 
of  dust,  is  a  much  more  excellent  fabric  than 
earth  or  dust.  Take  a  piece  of  earth  or  a  handful 
of  dust  and  compare  them  to  the  flesh  of  man; 
that  flesh  is  indeed  earth,  but,  is  it  not  far  better 
than  mere  earth?  And  is  it  not  different  from  all 
other  kinds  of  flesh  ?  Paul  was  a  great  word  builder. 
He  took  three  or  four  words  and  constructed  about 
them  one  of  the  most  wonderful  books  of  the  Bible  or 
the  ages,  viz ;  the  book  of  Romans.  In  the  seventh  chap- 
ter of  this  book,  he  used  a  word  that  sheds  a  flood  of 
light  on  the  mysterious  formation  of  human  flesh. 
The  word  is  sarkinos  and  means  flesh  or  fat.  The 
lexicographers  use  the  word  in  contra-distinction  to 
sarkikos,  which  has  a  pyschological  meaning,  and  in- 
corporates a  metaphysical  element  in  its  sphere.  Sar- 
kinos is  purely  physical,  referring  exclusively  to  the 
structure  of  the  flesh,  while  sarkikos  is  the  spirit 
that  inhabits  the  flesh,  and  that  rules  it  thru  its  pos- 
session of  the  psychological  and  metaphysical  realms 
of  human  nature.  The  Apostle  therefore  proves  con- 
clusively, that  it  is  temporarily  identified  with  the 
redeemed  or  regenerated  people  and  will  be  com- 
pletely eliminated  from  the  human  body,  when  the 
saved  are  immortalized  or  ''glorified  with  Jesus"  at 
His  coming,  either  thru  resurrection  or  translation. 

[37] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

He  says:  "As  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy 
we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly."  Cor. 
15:49.  There  are  two  leading  statements  contained 
in  the  text  that  are  perfectly  clear  to  any  person  of 
ordinary  intelligence.  Paul  uses  a  form  of  analogy 
here,  that  would  have  been  inaccessible  to  an  unin- 
spired writer.  The  Holy  Spirit  certainly  revealed  it 
to  him.  (a)  The  uniformity  of  design  is  preserved 
and  the  physical  identity  of  all  human  species  thru 
the  "image  of  the  earthy;"  and  tho  no  two  persons 
are  exactly  alike,  nevertheless  the  most  extreme  dis- 
similarity in  personal  physique  does  not  mar  nor 
eclipse  the  "earthy  image."  It  belongs  to  all  indiv- 
iduals of  all  races.  We  bear  it  —  not  made  in  it. 
God  made  one  man,  the  First  Adam,  ' '  in  His  image. ' ' 
Now  the  question  naturally  forces  itself  on  us,  in  this 
connection :  Did  the  Creator  give  Adam  a  flesh  soul, 
when  He  made  him  ?  Or  did  He  give  him  a  pneumat- 
ikos  or  Christ-Mind  ?  God  made  Adam  with  a  tripar- 
tite nature.  He  was  given  a  body,  soul  and  spirit. 
No  other  creature  like  Adam  had  ever  come  from  the 
hand  of  God.  God  divinely  invested  him  with  the 
highest  type  of  race  ideals  that  it  could  have  been 
possible  for  him  or  any  of  his  descendants  to  attain. 
Before  the  Fall  he  was,  organically  speaking,  the 
epitome  of  all  individual  human  beings  and  if  he  had 
perfectly  obeyed  the  Creator  and  preserved  the  race 
in  security,  he  never  could  have  been  superseded  by 
any  other  member  of  the  human  race.    He  was  the 

[38] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

divine  race-model.  He  was  endowed  with  supreme 
qualities  of  nature  that  could  have  been  imitated, 
but  never  surpassed,  by  any  of  his  descendants.  None 
could  have  been  better,  wiser  nor  higher,  than  he. 
The  human  species  would  have  been  propagated  thru 
the  maintenance,  in  all  generations,  of  the  human 
ideal  with  which  Adam  was  endowed.  Edenic  inno- 
cence would  have  been  the  crowning  glory  of  human- 
ity thru  all  ages.  Death  in  any  form  would  be  un- 
known if  Adam  had  not  sinned.  The  sin  of  the  First 
Man  is  exhibited  in  the  decay  of  nature.  Since  he 
was  the  mighty  Monarch  of  the  world,  the  effect  of 
his  disobedience  extended  to  all  forms  of  life,  vege- 
table and  animal,  and  thru  all  realms  and  spheres  of 
nature,  to  the  utmost  limits  of  his  vast  dominions. 
The  race  was  on  trial  in  Adam,  and  if  he  had  not  fail- 
ed, the  genealogy  of  the  race  would  have  been  pre- 
served incorruptible,  because  no  other  member  of  the 
human  family  could  have  violated  the  Will  of  God  as 
he  did,  for  the  reason  that  the  test  of  life  and  death 
tuould  not  have  extended  any  further  than  Adam.  It 
was  limited  to  him.  If  he  had  met  it  successfully, 
death  and  sin  would  have  never  entered  into  the  ex- 
perience of  men.  The  mortal  would  have  become  im- 
mortal, and  the  finite  (in  the  sense  of  endurance)  infi- 
nite, and  sin  would  have  never  been  in  reach  of  men, 
and  life  in  the  physical  form  would  have  been  eternal 
—  ''the  flesh  and  blood"  inheriting  the  Kingdom  of 

[39] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

God;  but  Adam  sinned  away  eternal  bliss  and  happi- 
ness for  his  progeny  in  a  moment,  therefore  Paul 
says:  "Now  this  I  say  brethren,  flesh  and  blood  doth 
not  inherit  the  Kingdom  of  heaven ;  neither  doth  cor- 
ruption inherit  incorruption."  I  Cor.  15:50.  The 
foregone  consideration  is  to  my  mind  conclusive 
proof  of  the  fact  that  God  did  not  include  the  carnal 
mind,  nor  any  other  element  of  sin  or  of  human  de- 
pravity as  it  exists  today  in  the  experience  of  all 
human  beings,  when  He  made  Adam.  God  made  him 
as  perfect  as  it  was  possible  for  a  being,  subject  to  a 
legal  test,  to  be  made.  He  made  him  subject  to  law 
and  so  adjusted  the  attributes  and  principles  of  his 
nature,  in  harmonious  relation  with  each  other,  viz ; 
spirit,  soul  and  body,  that  each  one  being  distinct 
from  the  other  two,  was  inter-dependent,  yet  corre- 
lated in  harmony  and  union  of  being,  thus  producing 
an  ''earthly"  personal  trinity,  in  unity.  But  sin 
entered  the  heart  of  Adam  and  despoiled  the  divine 
harmony  of  human  life  — being —  and  threw  the  visi- 
ble universe  into  discord.  Sin  is  the  dissonance  of 
the  ages;  the  quarrel  of  eternity.  The  First  Man, 
tho  sinless,  was  a  prospective  transgressor.  He  pos- 
sessed a  degree  of  personal  sovereignty  that  enabled 
him  to  voluntarily,  and  willfully  sin,  for  his  self-grati- 
fication. "And  Adam  was  not  deceived,  but  the 
woman  being  deceived  was  in  the  transgression."  I 
Tim.  2  :4.  Satan  could  not  deceive  Adam.  No  creat- 
ure no  matter  how  attractive,  great  or  powerful  could 

[40] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

have  made  Adam  sin.  "For  Adam  was  first  formed, 
then  Eve,"  which  evidently  means,  that  Adam  was 
hedged  about  with  divine  protection  and  regal  light, 
so  as  to  make  him  unapproachable  by  any  being  in  the 
form  of  a  perversive  and  persuasive  tempter,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  sin  against  light  and  thru  his  own 
free-will  and  sovereign  choice,  and  he  did  it.  Tho  the 
''carnal  mind  which  is  enmity  against  God"  was  im- 
mediately incorporated  with  the  central  power  of 
nature,  the  soul,  and  as  a  consequence  it  has  passed 
thru  the  race — father  to  son — from  individual  to  in- 
dividual, as  electricity,  touching  one  link  in  a  chain 
magnetizes  the  whole,  and  thus  has  become  the  uni- 
versal experience  of  humanity.  The  ''carnal  mind" 
is  the  fruit  of  self-love.  The  first  sin  was  committed 
in  heaven,  and  took  the  form  of  pride :  ' '  not  a  novice, 
lest  being  lifted  up  in  pride  he  fall  into  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  Devil."  Tim.  3  :6.  Pride  in  the  heart  of  the 
Archangel  was  the  product  of  the  same  spiritual 
quality  that  forms  the  basis  of  disbelief  in  the  hearts 
of  men.  Viz;  self-love — selfishness.  Angels  being 
pure  spirits,  not  having  soul  or  bodies,  cannot  dis- 
believe and  there  is  therefore  no  way  to  redeem  the 
transgression  of  angels.  Their  sins  are  outside  the 
realm  of  atonement  locally,  or  prospectively.  Hence 
they  believe  in  God,  but  cannot  hope  for  mercy  oi 
clemency,  thru  the  substitutional  work  of  Jesus  "who 
was  made  flesh"  like  the  First  Adam,  but  unlike 
him,  because  the  Second  Adam  having  a  flesh  body, 

[41] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

performed  the  "Will  of  God,  perfectly  ''without  the 
shadow  of  turning"  and  rescued  the  divine  human 
ideal,  that  was  forfeited  in  the  tragedy  of  Eden,  and 
became  the  Federal  Head  of  a  redeemed  race,  all 
members  of  which  were  lost  in  the  First  Adam  and 
many  of  whom  have  already  been  saved,  and  many 
more  are  to  be  gathered  into  His  Kingdom  in  future 
ages  and  "saved  by  His  blood."  But  angels  are  not 
included  as  subjects  of  grace  thru  the  blood  of 
Jesus  because  they  do  not  possess  soul  natures. 
''Thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God;  thou  doest 
well:  the  Devils  also  believe  and  tremble."  Jas. 
2 :19.  Referring  to  a  previous  question,  we  find  that 
the  human  or  race  ideal,  ethnologically,  as  well  as 
the  divine  image,  was  centered  in  Adam  as  the  exclus- 
ive pleni  potentiary  of  heaven.  This  brings  us  to  the 
consideration  of, 

Man's  Importance  as  a  Being 

The  First  Man  was  a  prototype  of  the  Second  Man — 
"the  Son  of  God"  —  Son  of  man  —  Jesus  the  Christ. 
Adam  was  therefore  formed  in  the  image  and  super- 
scription of  Jesus  because  He  was  the  image  and 
manifestation  of  the  Father.  ' '  God  was  in  Christ  re- 
conciling the  world  unto  Himself. ' '  The  statement  is 
retrospective,  and  shows  in  the  dim  figures  of  past 
events,  the  glory  that  would  have  covered  Adam  as  a 
garment,  and  also  his  place  as  the  central  figure  of 
creation,  if  he  had  obeyed  his  Creator  and  kept  his 

[42] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A    MAN 

estate  in  Eden.  If  Adam  had  not  sinned,  which  act 
severed  the  nexus  between  him  and  Jehovah,  would 
he  not  have  held  the  place  as  Mediator  before  God, 
for  the  Race  ?  If  Adam  had  not  sinned  and  forfeited 
God's  presence,  would  it  have  ever  been  possible  for 
any  one  of  his  descendants  (or  many  as  to  that  mat- 
ter) to  commit  such  flagrant  acts  of  disobedience  that 
would  have  involved  any  other  members,  or  branches 
of  the  human  family  in  partial  or  universal  corrup- 
tion? I  answer  in  the  negative.  It  seems  to  me  if 
Adam  had  not  voluntarily  involved  himself  in  sin 
with  Eve,  God  would  have  found  some  way,  consist- 
ent with  His  Will,  and  in  harmony  with  His  holiness 
and  unimpeachable  justice,  to  have  restored  Eve  in 
spotless  purity,  to  the  loving  embrace  of  her  husband. 
God  could  have  done  this  without  impeaching  His 
unbending  justice,  or  tarnishing  His  dignity  and 
personal  honor,  because  Eve  was  taken  from  Adam. 
In  the  immutable  order  of  creation,  the  man  was 
first  formed,  then  the  woman.  Paul  explains  this  cir- 
cumstance very  clearly  and  assures  us  that  the  ar- 
rangement established  by  the  Creator  in  the  begin- 
ning is  the  irrevocable  rule  for  the  adjustment  of 
human  relations  in  the  social,  domestic  and  religious 
spheres.  ''But  I  would  have  you  know,  that  the  head 
of  every  man  is  Christ;  and  the  head  of  the  woman 
is  the  man;  and  the  head  of  Christ  is  God."  I  Cor. 
11:3. 

The  place  or  sphere  of  the  woman  in  the  order 
[43] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

of  creation  is  therefore,  subordinate,  dependent,  in- 
cidental and  she  would  have  never  been  made  if  man 
had  not  first  been  formed.  Woman  is  the  interroga- 
tion point  of  the  universe;  the  riddle  of  creation. 
The  ruin  of  the  race  was  not  in  her  power.  Her 
authority  was  secondary,  and  she  was  superseded 
and  overshadowed  by  Adam.  He  was  vested  with 
the  power  of  life  and  death.  He  could  have  been 
the  ambassador  of  God  to  men — of  the  Holy  Trinity 
in  the  earth  forever,  if  he  had  chosen  life  and  kept 
himself  from  presumptuous  sin.  The  world  was  made 
for  him.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  Pre-Adam- 
ite  earth  was  without  form  and  void  and  darkness 
was  upon  the  fact  of  the  deep.  Chaos  ruled  the 
world.  If  man  could  have  lived  during  that  period, 
when  destructive  forces  ruled  the  earth-domain,  his 
mind  would  have  been  chaotic  and  God  would  have 
made  the  mistake  of  producing  a  creature  with  a 
disordered  brain  —  an  insane  being,  the  ivorh  of 
Super-Intelligence !  But  order  is  God 's  First  Law 
and  He  called  it  out  of  chaos,  forming  the  world  for 
the  habitation  of  man.  Mr.  A.  R.  "Wallace,  the  emin- 
ent scientist,  deals  with  the  point  before  us.  He  af- 
firms that  the  later  astronomical  discoveries  ''tend 
to  show  that  our  position  in  the  material  universe  is 
special  and  probably  unique ;  *  *  *  and  that  the  sup- 
reme end  and  purpose  of  this  vast  universe  was  the 
production  and  development  of  the  living  soul  in  the 
perishable  body  of  man. ' '    Speaking  of  the  sun  as  the 

[44] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

central  orb  of  the  stellar  system,  lie  says,  ' '  our  sun  is 
one  of  the  central  orbs  of  a  globular  star-cluster,  and 
the  center  occupies  a  position  very  near  to,  if  no;. 
actually  in,  the  center  of  the  whole  universe."  He 
therefore  concludes,  ' '  of  our  position  in  the  solar  sys- 
tem as  regards  adaptability  for  organic  life,  to  be  in 
all  probability,  as  central  and  unique  as  is  that  of  our 
sun  in  the  stellar  universe."  A  writer  in  the  Edin- 
burgh Review  (July  1904)  says:  ''Unquestionably 
the  trend  of  modern  research,  is  to  encourage  the 
opinion  that  the  solar  system  is  set  apart  among  the 
stars,  and  the  earth  among  the  planets,  as  if  for  the 
express  purpose  of  harbouring  in  safety  the  frail 
craft  bearing  the  burden  of  human  life."  The  fact 
that  Adam  was  created  from  the  dust  of  mother 
earth,  the  human  race  descending  from  him,  and  that 
Christ,  the  Second  Adam,  was  born,  lived,  suffered, 
died  and  was  buried  in  our  world,  rising  from  the 
dead,  ascending  to  the  Father  and  received  His  enth- 
ronement in  the  heavens,  from  our  world,  is  sufficient 
proof  of  the  foregone  conclusions,  that  the  world 
is  the  central  orb  of  organic  life  and  that  it  was 
formed  specially  for  the  habitation  of  man.  He  is  the 
geometric  center  of  the  universe,  and  his  influence 
girdles  the  globe,  the  baneful  effects  of  his  disobe- 
dience being  extended  to  the  furthest  limits  of  the 
visible  world.  God  made  him  a  moral  agent,  endowed 
him  with  the  power  of  a  freewill,  and  made  him  sover- 
eign in  the  earth  sphere.     The  world  and  its  crea- 

[45] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

tures  were  subject  to  his  authority  and  control.  ' '  And 
God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our 
likeness :  and  let  them  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the 
sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle, 
and  over  all  the  earth,  and  over  every  creeping  thing 
that  creepeth  upon  the  earth."  Gen.  1:26.  God  be- 
stowed upon  Adam  a  distinct  honor  and  one  that 
has  never,  before  nor  since  his  day,  been  conferred 
upon  any  other  creature,  in  that  He  committed  the 
naming  of  all  creatures  in  the  lower  of  life,  vegetable 
and  animal,  to  him.  "And  out  of  the  ground  the 
Lord  God  formed  every  beast  of  the  field  and  every 
fowl  of  the  air ;  and  brought  them  unto  Adam  to  see 
w^hat  he  would  call  them:  and  whatsoever  Adam 
called  every  living  creature  that  was  the  name  there- 
of." Gen.  2:19.  Therefore  the  effect  of  his  sin  was 
extended  to  all  creatures  and  every  part  of  the 
material  realm  over  which  he  held  dominion,  and 
God  emphasized  his  importance  by  bringing  His 
curse  as  a  part  of  the  penalty  imposed  upon  Adam's 
original  sin.  "Cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake 
in  sorrow  shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy 
life ;  Thorns  and  thistles  shall  it  bring  forth  to  thee 
and  thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field."  Gen 
3  :17,  18.  "For  the  creation  was  subjective  to  vanity 
not  of  its  own  will,  but  by  reason  of  Him  who  sub 
jected  it,  in  hope  that  the  creation  itself  also  shall  be 
delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the 
liberty  of  the  glory  of  the  children  of  God."     Ro. 

[46] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A    MAN 

8 :20,  21.  (R.  V.)  Milton  beautifully  portrays,  in  sub- 
lime verse,  the  truths  expressed  in  the  scripture  pas- 
sages above,  and  says : 

'*'0f  man's  first  disobedience  and  the  fruit 
Of  that  forbidden  tree  whose  mortal  taste 
Brought  death  into  the  world  and  all  our  woe, 
With  loss  of  Eden,  till  one  greater  man 
Restore  us,  and  regain  the  blissful  seat, 
Sing,  heavenly  muse,  that  on  the  secret 
Of  Oreb,  or  of  Sinai,  didst  inspire 
That  Shepherd,  who  first  taught  the  chosen  seed 
In  the  beginning  how  the  heavens  and  earth 
Rose  out  of  chaos." 

Oh  sin,  what  havoc  thou  has  wrought  in  our  fair 
world!  Thou  didst  obtrude  thine  unwelcome  pres- 
ence in  the  sacred  precincts  of  Eden,  seduce  the  fair- 
est woman  that  God  ever  made,  and  thru  her  be- 
witching charms,  thou  didst  succeed  in  entering  the 
heart  of  Adam,  our  Federal  Head,  and  polluting  the 
fountain  source  of  life,  thou  hast  sent  the  bitter 
stream  of  death  thru  every  human  heart  and  nation, 
tribe  and  race  of  men  under  the  sun.  Thou  art  the 
viceroy  of  Satan  and  the  fawning  ambassador  of 
death,  who  has  hollowed  out  the  globe,  and  thou  hast 
filled  it  with  thy  victims  of  past  generations.  Thou 
art  the  friend  of  Satan,  death  and  hell ;  the  enemy  of 
man,  God  and  heaven.  Thou  dost  turn  the  joy  of 
revelers  into  the  anguish  of  remorse.  Thou  art  the 
sting  of  death  that  fills  the  impenitent  with  horror 
in  the  dying  hour;  the  black  bond  of  iniquity,  that 

[47] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

has  left  its  malevolent  impress  upon  all  past  centu- 
ries. Thou  hast  sown  the  earth  down  with  dragons' 
teeth,  and  turned  the  world  into  an  aceldama  of 
blood  and  carnage.  Thou  hast  incited  Kings  and 
Rulers  to  unholy  acts  of  ambition,  and  hate,  and  thus 
produced  the  cataclysm  of  war.  Thy  upas  shadow 
falls  athwart  the  cradles  of  the  world,  and  helpless 
innocents  become  the  victims  of  a  galling  bond- 
age, of  an  evil  heredity,  from  which  they  cannot  es- 
cape, wars,  tumults,  riots,  calamities,  pestilence,  fa- 
mines, lost  character,  ruined  lives,  withered  hopes, 
wrecked  homes,  broken  hearts  and  death!  Death! 
Death!  are  some  of  the  results  of  thy  fell  work  of 
vindictive  hate,  and  fiendish  treachery,  practiced  up- 
on the  inhabitants  of  the  earth.  But  the  day  of 
victory  for  righteousness,  and  the  complete  eman- 
cipation of  the  world  from  thy  presence  and  power, 
draws  nigh  and  Jesses  ivill  destroy  thee  root  ana 
branch! 

"Ye  visions  of  bright  heavenly  birth, 

Ye  glories  of  the  latter  day, 
Descend  upon  the  fallen  earth. 
And  chase  the  shades  of  night  away. 

Bid  streams  of  love  and  mercy  flow 

Thru  every  vale  of  human  woe, 
TiU  sin,  and  care,  and  sorrow  cease. 

And  all  the  world  is  hushed  in  peace." 

The  entrance  of  sin  in  Eden  made  the  tragedy 
of  Calvary  necessary  and  the  fact  that  Jesus,  the 

[48] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

"Son  of  God"  died  for  man  exclusively,  shows  the 
vast,  immeasurable  importance  of  man.  God  made 
the  whole  creation  subject  to  his  will  and  power,  and 
gave  him  dominion  over  the  works  of  His  hands. 
"Thou  hast  made  him  to  have  dominion  over  the 
works  of  Thy  hands ;  Thou  hast  put  all  things  under 
his  feet;  All  sheep  and  oxen,  yea,  and  the  beast  of 
the  field ;  The  fowl  of  the  air  and  the  fish  of  the  sea, 
and  whatsoever  passeth  thru  the  paths  of  the  sea." 
Ps.  8  :6-8.  God  crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor 
and  placed  under  him  the  nearest  and  farthest — the 
tamest  and  wildest  —  the  highest  and  lowest  — 
all  parts  of  animated  nature  on  earth,  and  even  in 
sea  and  sky.  But  when  man  rebelled  against  his 
Maker  and  fell  under  judgment,  the  creature  below 
him  and  subject  to  his  authority,  rebelled  against 
him.  The  whole  creation  was  brought  under  the 
curse  of  sin,  and  man  the  glory-crowned  King  of  the 
world,  lost  his  throne  and  became  the  servant  and 
vassal  of  both  nature  and  sin.  Thus  man  lost  his 
sovereignty  and  became  the  abject  and  dishonored 
servant  of  servants,  and  if  his  Maker  had  not 
given  him  a  Saviour,  who  could  restore  the  pledge 
of  unfailing  obedience,  and  become  man's  substitute 
under  law,  being  "made  sin  for  us,"  he  would 
have  been  hissed  from  the  presence  of  his  Creator, 
without  the  opportunity  of  repentance  or  the  cleans- 
ing mercies  of  David.  But  Jesus  took  the  place  as 
man's  substitute 

[49] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

Personal  Representative 

in  heaven  and  on  earth.  He  was  the  great  Antitype 
of  the  First  man  and  as  such  offered  Himself,  a  med- 
iatorial ransom  for  many  ''dying  the  just  for  the  un- 
just that  He  might  bring  us  to  God."  "For  there  is 
one  God,  and  one  mediator  between  God  and  man,  the 
man  Christ  Jesus. ' '  I  Tim.  2 :5.  God  promised  our 
First  Parents  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  that,  a  "seed  of 
the  woman,"  (one  having  the  form,  functions  and 
nature  of  ordinary  human  beings)  should  come  into 
the  world  as  the  antagonist  of  Satan  (serpent),  and 
that  He  would  triumph  over  him,  and  destroy  his 
kingdom  in  the  world.  The  passage  reads  thus: 
"And  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the  woman 
and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed ;  he  shall  bruise 
thy  head  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel."  Gen.  3  :15. 
The  above  statement  contains  the  first  promise  of  a 
Redeemer  for  mankind,  and  it  also  opens  the  "high- 
way of  the  seed,  Abel,  Seth,  Noah  (Gen.  6:8,  10), 
Shem  (Gen.  9:26,  27),  Abraham  (Gen.  12:  1-4),  Isaac 
(Gen.  17:  19-21),  Jacob  (Gen.  8:10-14),  Judah  (Gen. 
49:10),  David  (2  Sam.  5:5-17),  Emanuel-Christ 
(Isa.  7  :9-14) ,  (Math.  1 :20-23) .  Hence  it  is  clear  that 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  for  the  purpose  of  redeem- 
ing men  thru  the  payment  of  a  price,  for  the  original 
sin  of  Adam,  that  all  nature  might  be  ultimately  de- 
livered from  the  curse,  under  which  it  passed,  when 
Adam  rebelled  against  God.  "And  unto  Adam  He 
said,  because  thou  hast  hearkened  unto  the  voice  of 

[50] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

thy  wife,  and  hast  eaten  of  the  tree,  of  which  I  com- 
manded thee  saying,  Thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it ;  cursed 
is  the  ground  for  thy  sake, ' '  etc.  There  is  an  extra- 
ordinary passage  in  Romans,  that  explains  this  and 
similar  statements  that  have  been  previously  cited, 
and  which  reads  as  follows:  "For  we  know  that  the 
creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together 
until  now."  The  facts  regarding  power,  greatness, 
immortality  and  importance  of  man  as  disclosed  in 
the  scriptures,  prove  conclusively  to  any  fair  mind- 
ed person  that  Adam  was  the  central  figure  of 
creation,  and  was  so  intimately  identified  with  the 
visible,  material  universe  that  all  life,  organic  and 
inorganic,  was  directly  involved  in  his  transgression 
and  upon  the  principle  of  philosophic  reciprocity, 
passed  under  the  curse  that  his  conduct  justly  mer- 
ited. The  perfection,  glory  and  life  of  nature  exist- 
ed, representatively,  in  him.  He  was  Monarch  of  the 
world,  and  when  he  fell  from  his  high  throne  in  Para- 
dise, the  shock  w^as  felt  thru  out  "the  metes  and 
bounds"  of  his  kingdom  realm,  and  all  nature  col- 
lapsed, and  writhing  in  pain,  rebelled  against  the 
injustice  of  her  human  Lord,  and  striking  back  in 
injured  agony,  defied  his  power  and  challenged  his 
right  to  govern  and  control  any  orders  in  the  natural 
realm.  Every  storm  that  sweeps  over  the  fair  face 
of  the  world,  leaving  death  and  desolation  in  its 
wake;  every  seismic  shock  that  makes  the  pillars  of 
nature    tremble,    overthrowing    cities    and    villages, 

[51] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

destroying  peace  and  filling  the  hearts  of  men  with 
terror;  every  eclipse  that  casts  its  shadow  over  the 
face  of  sun  or  moon  or  star,  is  nature 's  cry  of  distress 
to  God,  asking  for  relief  from  the  curse  of  man's  sin 
and  praying  for  complete  restoration  to  its  pristine 
glory  and  peace.  And  God  has  provided  His  Son, 
who  is  capable  of  establishing  righteousness  as  the 
universal  rule  of  action  for  all  creatures,  and  He  will 
eliminate  sin  from  the  experience  of  men,  banish 
Satan  from  the  earth  and  restore  all  things  to  right 
relations  with  God  thru  the  overthrow  of  all  world 
kingdoms,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of 
the  heavens,  in  glorious  triumph  on  the  earth.  ''And 
He  shall  send  Jesus  which  was  before  preached  unto 
you:  Whom  the  heavens  must  receive  until  the 
times  of  restitution  of  all  things,  which  God  has 
spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  His  holy  Prophets,  since 
the  w^orld  began."  Acts  3:20,  Jesus,  the  ''Son  of 
God"  —  "Son  of  Man,"  has  taken  the  place  as 
Mediator  between  God  and  man. 

He  is  God's  Ambassador  to  men  and  man's  ad- 
vocate before  God.  In  order  to  save  men  from  sin 
and  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  law,  to  pardon  tht 
sinner,  without  contravening  the  honor  and  dignity 
of  His  Father,  it  was  necessary  for  Him  to  be  related 
by  nature,  to  both  God  and  man,  and  to  be  identified 
with  both,  on  the  basis  of  the  highest  ethicalism  that 
His  Father  could  devise,  and  that  it  would  be  pos- 
sible for  any  human  being  thru  Him  to  attain.    Jesus, 

[52] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

therefore  possessed,  as  the  personal  representative 
of  the  human  race,  a  pure  human  spirit,  an  incorrup- 
tible human  soul,  and  a  perfect,  sinless,  human  body. 
He  obtained  His  human  elements  and  functions,  thru 
the  ordinary  methods  of  a  natural  birth,  tho  it  was 
super-naturally  produced  under  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  He  became  the  ''Seed  of  the  woman" 
by  birthright  and  entered  into  affiliation  with  man- 
kind as  the  ''Son  of  man"  —  "Second  Adam,"  but 
as  a  "Son  of  God,"  He  could  not  be  born  or  produced 
by  any  act  of  omnipotent  power,  but  must  be  "given" 
as  the  divine  representative  of  God  to  men.  Isaiah 
mentions  this  fact :  ' '  For  unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto 
us  a  Son  is  given :  and  the  government  shall  be  upon 
His  shoulder :  and  His  name  shall  be  called  Wonder- 
ful, Counselor,  The  Mighty  God,  The  Everlasting 
Father,  the  Prince."  Isa.  9 :6.  Jesus  was  eternally  the 
"Son  of  God"  and  as  such,  was  "given"  by  the 
Father  to  be  the  Saviour  of  men,  and  to  redeem  all 
nature  from  the  original  curse  that  was  inflicted 
upon  Adam.  He  was  "God  of  very  God"  and  the 
most  perfect,  model  human  being  that  has  ever  come 
into  our  world. 

"Jesus  whose  blood  so  freely  streamed 
To  satisfy  the  law's  demand; 
By  Thee  from  guilt  and  wrath  relieved 
Before  the  Father's  face  I  stand. 
To  reconcile  offending  man, 
Make  justice  drop  her  angry  rod; 
What  creature  could  have  formed  the  plan, 
Or  who  fulfill  it  but  a  GodV 
[53] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

The  Two  Adams  Compared 

' '  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely 
die,"  —  were  faithful  words  of  warning,  and  had 
they  been  observed  how  different  would  world  af- 
fairs be  today!  No  age  would  have  witnessed  the 
ravages  of  war,  betrayal  of  friendships,  nor  the  des- 
truction of  domestic  felicity  by  a  human  vampire,  who 
is  so  depraved  in  heart,  and  morally  perverted  in 
character,  as  to  consider  virtue  a  shame,  and  vice  the 
crowning  glory  of  womanhood.  Sin  would  have  never 
cast  its  blighting  shadow  athwart  the  horizon  of  the 
world,  and  disease  and  death  would  be  unknown. 
Peace,  prosperity  and  happiness  would  reign  supreme. 
But  alas !  — 

^'What  scenes  of  horror  and  of  dread 

Await  the  sinner's  dying  bed! 
Death's  terrors  all  appear  in  sight, 
Presages  of  eternal  night." 

Jesus  is  the  hope  of  the  world  and  if  men  desire 
peace  of  conscience,  tranquility  of  mind,  spiritual 
prosperity  and  eternal  life  hereafter,  they  must  peni- 
tently obey  Him.  God  has  committed  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  world  —  all  things  visible  and  invisible  to 
Jesus.  He  has  displaced  Adam  in  the  order  of  the 
universe  and  "the  Way,  the  Truth,  the  Life,"  to  all 
who  believe.  All  judgment  has  been  committed  to 
Him.  He  is  "King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords."  It 
is  interesting  to  compare  the  two  Adams.    The  first 

[54] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

Adam  brought  sin  into  the  world  and  condemnation 
upon  the  entire  race.  Death  followed  as  the  result  of 
sin.  Adam  was  made  holy  and  placed  in  a  pure  en- 
vironment and  was  given  regal  authority  as  the  ruler 
of  the  world.  How  glorious  —  god-like  —  must  have 
been  unfallen  human  nature !  No  wonder  angels 
shouted  for  joy,  and  the  sons  of  God  clapped  their 
hands  in  the  ecstacy  of  amazement,  when  they  beheld 
for  the  first  time,  the  wonderful  creature  man  in  the 
garden,  before  his  glory  was  sullied  by  the  commis- 
sion of  sin!  And  it  is  entrancingly  majestic  in  its 
ruins.  In  its  natural  state,  it  is  an  untilled  garden 
of  God  —  a  withered  oasis  in  the  desert  of  destiny, 
whose  burning  sands  show  here  and  there,  the  foot- 
prints, of  a  long-since  departed  Deity  —  a  decaying 
temple,  whose  darkened  halls  and  mouldering  sanc- 
tuary retains  no  evidence  of  the  purpled  ease,  from 
luxurious  wealth,  nor  one  lost  note  of  melody,  from 
the  lyre  of  life,  reminding  us  of  the  majestic  power, 
and  regal  happiness  of  its  occupants  in  the  long  ago. 
The  evening  star  peeps  thru  the  crevice  in  the  wall, 
and  drapes  abandoned  altars  of  sacrifice  with  a 
sheen  of  gossamer  silver,  chasing  away  the  sullen 
shadows,  and  lingering  lovingly  upon  the  faded  petals 
of  virtue's  crimson  rose,  and  while  we  continue  to 
dream,  passing  further  under  the  power  of  fancy's 
seven-hued  arch,  our  enchantment  deepens,  the  shad- 
ows fade,  and  we  behold  the  voiceless  organ  of  being, 
enshrouded  in  the  gray  light  of  a  dying  day  —  silent, 

[55] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

dust-covered  and  deserted.  It  is  no  longer  instinct 
with  harmony  and  responds  no  more,  in  a  deep  diap- 
ason of  angelic  melody,  or  a  thrilling  crescendo  of 
divine  unity,  keeping  harmony  with  the  ''music  of 
the  spheres."  I  turn  from  this  forbidding  prospect, 
to  observe  that  human  nature  reflects  the  image  of 
God  in  its  ruins.  Emerson  says:  "every  man  is  a 
divinity  in  disguise,  a  god  playing  the  fool.  It  seems 
as  if  heaven  had  sent  its  insane  angels  into  our  world 
as  to  an  asylum.  And  here  they  will  break  out  into 
their  native  music,  and  utter  at  intervals  the  words 
they  have  heard  in  heaven ;  then  the  mad  fit  returns, 
and  they  mope  and  wallow  like  dogs."  But  man 
disobeyed  Jehovah  and  severed  all  connection  with 
heaven,  lost  control  of  his  great  dominions,  the  com- 
panionship of  angels  and  involved  the  world  in  uni- 
versal ruin.  Jesus,  in  order  to  become  our  Saviour, 
gave  up  His  dominions,  the  companionship  of  angels, 
and  also,  ''the  glory  that  He  had  with  the  Father, 
before  all  worlds"  and  entered  our  world  that  was 
reeking  with  corruption ;  and  taking  a  human  body  — 
obtained  from  a  woman  —  the  "Seed  of  the  woman" 
He  began  to  lead  the  race  in  victorious  righteous- 
ness, back  to  God,  and  He  will  ultimately  triumph 
over  every  foe,  visible  and  invisible,  and  bring  in  the 
universal  Kingdom  of  God,  and  restore  the  lost  Eden 
to  the  bosom  of  the  world.  Death  came  by  man.  The 
grave  opened  to  receive  the  victims  of  sin.  And  if 
Jesus  had  refused  to  become  the  world's  Redeemer  on 

[56] 


GOD'S    GREATEST    CREATIVE    ACT:     A   MAN 

that  most  fateful  day  in  Eden,  when  Adam  sinned, 
the  grave  would  have  become  the  end  of  us  all,  and 
nature  would  have  been  blotted  out  of  existence. 
The  soul  would  have  perished  in  the  dust  of  its 
crumbling  temple,  and  the  spirit  would  have  been  ex- 
tinguished in  the  darkness  of  annihilation.  But  Jes- 
us became  man's  surety  and  promised  His  father  to 
appear  in  court  in  future  ages  as  his  advocate.  Thus 
soul  and  spirit  were  permitted  to  exist  in  a  disem- 
bodied form,  when  separated  from  the  body  in  death. 
The  First  Man  surrendered  his  life,  and  had  no  pow- 
er to  take  it  again.  He  died  seeking  his  own  selfish 
aggrandizement.  His  was  the  insane  act  of  a  suicide, 
but  it  had  a  still  worse  feature,  being  parricidal  in 
effect,  and  the  blow  that  severed  his  own  head,  cut 
the  jugular  vein  of  his  ancestry.  But  Jesus  in  hum- 
ble resignation  to  the  Will  of  His  Father,  gave  up 
His  life  for  the  dead.  He  had  power  to  take  it  again, 
and  when  He  arose  from  ''Joseph's  new  tomb,"  He 
vanquished  death  and  became  the  ''resurrection  and 
the  life." 

Thus  "by  man  came  death"  but  by  man  also, 
came  "the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  Adam  vio- 
lated law  and  brought  us  under  judgment :  Jesus  kept 
inviolable  every  tenet  of  law  for  us,  and  "brought 
life  and  immortality  to  light  thru  the  gospel." 
Adam  was  the  end  of  life,  and  the  beginning  of  death ; 
Jesus  was  the  end  of  death,  and  the  beginning  of  "life 
from  the  dead."    The  spiritual  life  that  the  believer 

[57] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

possesses,  is  a  pledge  from  God  that  he  shall  have  his 
body,  changed  and  made  immortal.  ^'Oh  death, 
where  is  thy  sting  ?    Oh  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ? ' ' 

'' Beyond  these  chilly  winds  and  gloomy  skies, 
Beyond  death's  cloudy  portal. 
There  is  a  land  where  beauty  never  dies 
And  love  becomes  immortal/^ 


[58] 


CHAPTER  IV 

Faith  in  Christ 

And  without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  be  well- 
pleasing  unto  Him;  for  he  that  cometh  to  God  must 
believe  that  He  is  and  that  He  is  a  rewarder  of  them 
that  seek  after  Him.  Heb.  11 :6.  Pleasing  God  is  of 
supreme  importance.  It  should  be  the  sole  object  of 
all  our  christian  labor.  I  read  this  question  in  an  old 
book:  ''What  is  the  chief  end  of  man?  the  answer  as 
given  is,  "To  glorify  God  and  enjoy  Him  forever." 
The  answer  is  eminently  correct,  but  it  could  have 
been  answered  more  briefly  and  just  as  correctly  and 
with  fewer  words,  viz ;  To  please  God.  To  please  God 
has  a  twofold  meaning;  experimentally,  a  man  can- 
not be  satisfied  or  pleased  with  himself,  until  he  shall 
have  succeeded  in  meeting  divine  requirements,  ful- 
filling the  law  of  obedience  according  to  the  will  of 
God,  and  conforming  himself  in  a  surrendered  will 
and  a  believing  heart,  to  Jesus  for  faithful  service  to 
the  close  of  life's  fitful  day.  Paul  says :  ''faith  is  the 
substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen.  Thus  faith  is  the  revelation  of  a  spiritual 
life  wrought  by  the  regenerated  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  that  was  previously  performed  in  bringing  us 
into  relationship  with   God  as  "heirs  of  God  and 

[59] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

joint  heirs  with  Christ,"  enabling  us  to  please  God 
through  the  exercise  of  a  living  faith.  The  import- 
ance of  faith  then  as  an  evidence  of  spiritual  life  in 
the  soul  is  very  clear,  in  that  it  is  essential  to  the 
presentation  of  the  saved  state  to  the  mind,  and  spir- 
itual consciousness  of  a  Christian.  Therefore  faith  is 
not  only  essential  as  a  fundamental  of  salvation,  but 
it  is  also  a  spiritual  grace  thru  which  we  please  God, 
and  enter  into  the  full  enjoyment  of  our  saved  state. 
It  is  the  source  of  assurance,  and  the  mainspring  of 
soul  peace,  and  without  it,  it  is  impossible  for  any  one 
to  enjoy  and  be  satisfied  with  the  life  we  live  in  this 
world.  Jesus  gave  special  emphasis  to  the  last  fact, 
when  He  said:  "Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my 
yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me  and  I  will  give  you 
rest."  If  we  succeed  in  pleasing  our  Maker  we  will 
add  eternal  laurels  to  our  crown  and  cover  ourselves 
with  imperishable  glory.  Abel  achieved  an  undying 
fame  and  an  eternal  heritage  through  faith,  and  by 
it,  "he  being  dead,  yet  speaketh,  God  testifying  to 
his  gifts."  We  cannot  have  God  for  our  witness, 
unless  we  accept  His  terms  of  salvation  and  become 
witnesses  for  Him  through  faith  in  Jesus.  Man  then, 
cannot  please  God  without  bringing  himself  great 
spiritual  happiness,  and  an  abundance  of  immortal 
rewards  in  the  next  world,  and  temporal  prosperity 
in  this.  We  should  continually  keep  in  mind  the 
fact  that  God  always  accepts  the  person  who  pleases 

[60] 


•    FAITH   IN    CHRIST 

Him  and  pours  upon  His  children  the  bounties  of 
grace,  causing  them  to  walk  under  the  aegis  of  His 
protecting  care,  and  benevolent  guidance.  Pleasing 
our  heavenly  Father  should  be  the  chief  concern  of 
all  Christians  and  the  question:  "How  can  I  please 
Him?"  should  have  the  first  place  in  the  considera- 
tion of  all  men.  It  brings  the  stupendous  question  of 
Christ  and  His  atoning  merits  plainly  to  our  view, 
whenever  it  is  presented.  There  is  something  very 
serious  and  solemn  in  our  text:  "Without  faith  it  is 
impossible  to  please  God."  Strive  as  we  may,  give 
our  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  our  bodies  to  be 
burned,  and  it  profits  us  nothing  without  faith.  Make 
what  sacrifices  you  choose,  be  as  eminent  in  things 
lovely,  beautiful  and  of  good  report  among  men,  yet 
none  of  these  will  be  well  pleasing  to  God  unless 
they  are  mixed  with  faith.  God  said  to  the  Jews: 
"With  all  your  sacrifices  you  must  offer  salt."  He 
means  by  this  that  we  must  produce  good  works 
through  faith  in  Him,  and  because  we  love  Him, 
otherwise  our  work  will  not  be  work,  not  being 
mixed  with  faith,  and  our  faith  will  not  be  faith, 
not  being  mixed  with  work,  because  faith  works  by 
love  and  love  is  of  God,  and  furthermore  "God  is 
love;"  therefore,  we  cannot  please  God  except  thru 
the  recognition  of  His  divine  nature  in  us,  and  faith 
is  the  only  element  of  spiritual  life  through  which 
we  are  enabled  to  understand  the  unfolding  of  His 
invisible  presence  in  our  hearts.     Faith  is  a  law  of 

[61] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

the  spiritual  realm  and  is  as  old  as  the  first  man. 
When  Cain  and  Abel  attained  manhood,  God  gave  a 
test  that  practically  demonstrated  this  law,  and 
showed  very  clearly  that  in  that  early  age  "with- 
out faith  it  was  impossible  to  please  Him."  One 
bright  day  Cain  and  Abel  erected  two  altars  side  by 
side.  Cain  brought  the  choicest  fruits  of  the  field  and 
placed  them  upon  his  altar,  and  Abel  brought  the 
firstling  of  the  flocks,  and  placed  it  upon  his  altar. 
The  fire  of  God  descended  from  heaven  and  con- 
sumed Abel's  offerings,  but  Cain's  was  untouched. 
God  did  not  consider  the  sacrifice  of  Cain,  because 
it  was  not  dedicated  in  faith.  Abel's  lamb  reflected 
his  faith  in  the  substitutionary  death  of  Christ — ■ 
God's  lamb.  The  offering  of  Abel,  therefore,  was 
acceptable  to  God,  it  having  been  made  in  the  belief 
of  the  atonement  of  Jesus,  and  as  a  type  of  His 
sacrificial  death  for  men.  Thru  it  He  was  justi- 
fied and  His  work  preserved.  Abel  had  faith  in  Jes- 
us, while  Cain  trusted  in  his  offering  —  his  good 
works,  depending  upon  himself  to  "please  God;" 
hence,  when  he  was  rejected,  he  became  very  angry, 
and  slew  his  brother,  showing  that  there  was  no 
faith  with  his  works,  and  his  heart  was  devoid  of 
love  for  God.  And  we  should  not  forget  that  the 
same  spirit  of  self-exultation  enters  into  the  hearts 
of  all  those  persons  who  are  performing  good  works 
at  the  present  time,  in  a  vain  effort  to  please  God 
thereby,  and  save  themselves  from  the  condemnation 

[62] 


FAITH   IN    CHRIST 

of  sin,  and  the  general  doom  of  the  human  race.  The 
scriptures  furnish  abundant  illustration  of  their 
folly  in  the  doom  of  such  characters  as  Cain  and  King 
Saul  and  Gehazi  and  Simonimagus,  the  last  having 
so  deeply  imbibed  a  spirit  of  self-love,  that  in  His 
moral  delusions  He  audaciously  offered  a  bribe  to  the 
Apostle  Peter  in  exchange  for  the  free  and  unctious 
and  supernatural  gift  of  the  Holy  spirit.  Where 
there  is  no  faith,  the  heart  is  perverted  and  darkened, 
and  cannot  entertain  truth  until  it  is  touched  by  the 
fires  of  God's  holy  spirit,  and  the  dross  of  carnality 
is  consumed,  and  a  new  nature  is  generated  thru 
the  brooding  presence  of  the  Third  Person  in  the 
Trinity.  Faith  cannot  exist  in  an  environment  of 
spiritual  death.  There  is  but  one  death  that  faith 
honors  and  that  is,  the  death  of  Christ  thru  which 
event  it  is  perfected.  If  faith  could  exist  in  the  un- 
regenerate  soul,  it  would  be  compelled  to  witness  to 
the  tragedy  of  eternal  death,  and  perform  the  sad 
office  of  funeral  director  and  undertaker  for  the  dead 
soul.  But  faith  is  a  living  principle,  and  must  have 
an  atmosphere  and  spiritual  surrounding  consonant 
with  its  nature,  and  in  harmony  with  its  testimony, 
or  it  must  forever  remain  dumb,  because  when  it 
speaks,  it  must  witness  thru  Jesus,  ''who  was  made 
alive  from  the  dead."  Jesus  is  the  author  and  the 
finisher  of  faith.  He  originated  it,  by  working  spir- 
itual changes  in  the  hearts  of  men,  in  every  age  from 
Abel  to  the  time  of  his  own  personal  manifestation 

I  03] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

to  Israel,  and  implanting  in  their  hearts  a  personal 
knowledge  of  Himself  as  the  Savior  of  the  world 
thru  the  shedding  of  blood.  He  finishes  or  completes 
the  nature  of  faith,  in  making  it  harmonize  and  ex- 
plain His  work  in  our  hearts,  and  also  in  the  sense  of 
satisfaction  that  the  soul  experiences  in  accepting 
the  atonement  of  Jesus.  "Without  the  shedding  of 
blood  there  is  no  remission."  Faith  loves  the  shed 
blood  of  Jesus  —  it  is  a  product  ■ —  a  ripe  fruit,  that 
springs  up  in  the  heart  from  the  regenerated  flowing 
of  the  blood,  thru  the  souls  of  men  for  the  cleansing  of 
sin.  Faith  accepted  as  inevitable  and  unavoidable, 
the  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  wept  in  sorrow  over 
the  tomb  of  Joseph,  keeping  the  light  of  immortal 
hope  glimmering  upon  the  horizon  of  a  lost  world, 
and  when  Jesus  burst  asunder  the  bands  of  death 
and  arose  from  the  dust  of  the  tomb,  faith  gathered 
about  it  the  waning  energies  of  broken  hearts,  and 
filled  the  souls  of  men  with  a  triumphant  hope  of  a 
resurrected  life,  and  put  a  new  song  in  the  heart 
of  a  struggling  church  and  a  new  hymn  of  praise 
upon  the  lips  of  believers  in  every  age,  even  thanks- 
givings to  our  God.  "All  things  are  possible  to  him 
that  believeth.  Unto  you  that  believe  He  is  pre- 
cious." Faith  makes  Jesus  precious  and  real  to 
the  soul.  Historically  speaking,  we  believe  concern- 
ing men  of  genius,  the  poets,  the  artists,  the  authors, 
the  orators,  who  have  greatly  influenced  their  fel- 
low-men, that  their  gifts  and  mental  talents,  with  all 

[64] 


FAITH   IN    CHRIST 

the  circumstances  that  contributed  to  their  personal 
developments,  were  so  ordered  and  directed  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  as  to  qualify  them  for  the  part  they  were 
to  play  in  the  destiny  of  human  affairs.  But  it  is 
impossible  for  us  to  realize  the  presence,  in  our  af- 
fairs in  a  personal  way  at  least,  of  any  one  of  the 
great  characters  who  have  played  some  part  in  the 
drama  of  life,  but  who  have  passed  from  this  world's 
stage  of  action,  tho  we  fully  believe,  and  with  all  the 
earnestness  and  sincerity  of  our  souls,  that  they  were 
endowed  with  an  immortal  nature,  and  are  living  to- 
day somewhere  in  the  unseen  realms  of  eternity.  And 
the  only  person  who  has  ever  lived  in  our  world,  en- 
dured its  trials,  suffered  its  unjust  afflictions,  loved 
it,  was  true  to  it,  died  for  it,  finding  a  resting  place 
in  its  bosom,  arose  from  its  embrace  of  death  and 
ascending  to  the  other  world,  left  behind  him  a 
spiritual  gift  and  an  ennobling  trait  of  character, 
viz :  Faith  thru  which  it  is  possible  for  men  to  realize 
His  presence  consciously,  at  all  times  and  under  all 
the  distressing  circumstances,  and  in  all  the  trying 
vicissitudes  of  life.  Madame  Swetchine  says:  "Faith, 
amid  the  disorders  of  a  sinful  life,  is  like  the  lamp 
burning  in  an  ancient  tomb."  I  heartily  commend 
the  elegant  statement  of  faith  from  the  pen  of  the 
brilliant  Montford,  viz :  "The  light  of  genius  is  some- 
times so  resplendent,  as  to  make  man  walk  thru  life, 
amid  glory  and  acclimation ;  but  it  burns  very  dimly 
and  low,  when  carried  into  ' '  the  valley  of  the  shadow 

[65] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

of  death."  But  faith  is  like  the  evening  stars,  shin- 
ing into  our  souls  the  more  brightly,  the  deeper  the 
night  of  death  in  which  they  sink. ' ' 

Faith  Defined 

The  great  Napoleon  expresses  his  ideas  of  the 
power  of  a  living  faith  in  the  following  words,  viz: 
"all  the  scholastic  scaffolding  falls  as  a  ruined  edi- 
fice, before  one  single  word,  —  faith  ! ' '  The  blind 
poet  Milton  in  the  following  sublime  phrases,  testi- 
fies to  the  power  of  faith,  as  the  truest  and  most 
abiding  vision  that  the  soul  has  of  eternity  and  de- 
clares, ''0  welcome  pure-eyed  one,  for  this  Faith, 
white-handed  Hope,  thou  hovering  angel,  girt  with 
golden  wings!"  Doctor  Geo.  A.  Loften  explains  the 
matter  of  faith  very  clearly,  in  its  relation  to  atone- 
ment, in  the  expression:  "By  His  incarnation  and 
atonement  Christ  went  down  into  the  depths  of 
humanity  and  hell  to  save  us;  and  we  must  really 
get  into  Christ  and  He  into  us,  in  order  to  reach  His 
life,  ratify  His  atonement  and  appropriate  His  right- 
eousness." Hence  faith  must  be  rationally  the  inex- 
orable law  of  our  union  with  Christ,  or  of  our  salva- 
tion by  grace.  According  to  Paul's  view  of  salvation 
it  has  three  distinct  phases,  viz ;  eschatotological,  cos- 
mic, and  dynamic.  It  is  eschatotological  because  it 
means,  fundamentally,  God's  deliverance  of  man 
from  the  impending  wrath.  His  transforming  of  them 

[66] 


FAITH    IN    CHRIST 

into  His  own  likeness  and  nature,  and  His  sharing 
with  them  His  functions  as  ruler  and  judge  of  the 
universe.  All  these  experiences  pertain  to  the  future. 
It  is  cosmic  and  dynamic,  because,  in  order  for  God 
to  accomplish  these  results,  it  was  necessary  for  Him 
thru  the  exercise  of  superhuman  power,  to  rescue 
men  from  the  evil  powers  of  the  cosmos.  As  long  as 
men  are  under  the  domineering  control  of  Gentile 
world-power,  they  are  the  victims  of  impending  wrath, 
and  subject  to  the  judgments  that  will  be  directed 
against  the  cosmos  or  world-power,  at  the  close  of  this 
age. 

Many  superficial  readers  of  the  scriptures  do  not 
understand  that  all  persons  of  every  race  and  kin- 
dred and  tongue,  and  all  characters  of  evil  doers, 
and  disbelievers,  without  any  exceptions,  are  identi- 
fied with  the  Gentile  world-powers,  and  are  subject 
to  the  avenging  judgments  that  God  has  in  reserva- 
tion for  them ;  and  that  on  the  other  hand,  all  believ- 
ers are  personally  incorporated  with  all  divine  move- 
ments that  God  has  embraced  or  inaugurated  for 
the  evangelization  of  the  world,  and  the  salvation  of 
the  elect,  in  the  Gentile  Dispensation.  At  the  feast 
of  the  Passover,  in  answer  to  certain  Greeks  who 
sought  an  interview  with  Him,  He  said:  ''The  hour 
is  come  that  the  "Son  of  Man"  should  be  glorified. 
Verily,  Verily,  I  say  unto  you  except  a  corn  of  wheat 
fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone :  but  if 
it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit."    Jesus  did  not 

[67] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

receive  these  Gentiles,  the  Greeks,  but  His  words 
quoted  above  had  special  reference  to  them  at  that 
time,  and  to  all  classes  of  people  in  succeeding  ages, 
who  were  to  be  classed  cosmically,  as  Gentiles. 
Christ  in  the  flesh.  King  of  the  Jews,  could  not  dur- 
ing His  personal  ministry  be  an  object  of  faith  to  the 
Gentiles  tho  the  Jews  should  have  believed  on  Him, 
as  Messiah  and  their  King.  For  the  Gentiles  were  as 
a  corn  of  wheat  that  falls  into  the  ground  and  dies ; 
so  Christ  must  be  lifted  up  on  the  cross  and  believed 
in,  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  as  ' '  Seed  of  Abraham, ' '  and 
not  David.  Paul  sheds  a  halo  of  light  on  the  intri- 
cate point  involved  in  the  previous  statement,  and 
it  is  worthy  of  notice  here :  "And  the  scripture,  fore- 
seeing that  God  was  justifying  the  heathen  thru 
faith,  preached  before  the  gospel  unto  Abraham, 
saying.  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blest.  So  then 
they  which  be  of  faith  are  blest  with  faithful  Abra- 
ham." Dr.  Vance's  statement  of  faith  is  pertinent, 
viz:  "A  man's  faith  is  the  essential  condition  of  all 
that  God  seeks  to  develop  within  and  confer  upon  us. 
He  wants  us  to  have  hope,  but  hope  is  impossible 
without  faith.  We  are  saved  by  hope  but  hope  that 
is  seen;  that  is,  hope  that  lacks  faith  is  not  hope. 
Thus  faith  is  back  of  everything  that  God  seeks  to 
develop  in  us,  and  to  work  out  thru  us  as  consecrated 
human  instrumentalities. 

^'Take  Thou  my  hand; 
Take  it!     Thou  knowest  best 

[68] 


FAITH   IN    CHRIST 

How  I  should  go,  and  all  the  rest ; 
I  cannot,  cannot  see; 
Lead  me,  I  hold  my  hands  to  Thee 
I  own  no  will  but  Thine; 
Make  Thy  way  mine." 

Faith  gives  God  his  opportunity  with  man,  and 
gives  man  his  acquisition  of  God.  And  faith  in  all 
of  its  varying  degrees,  from  the  lowest  to  its  highest 
development,  and  from  its  weakest  to  its  greatest 
strength,  is  a  man's  estimate  of  God.  Then,  what 
is  faith?  It  is  a  simple  word,  any  child  can  spell  it, 
but  it  has  a  compound  meaning  that  is  very  difficult 
and  complicated,  and  almost  incomprehensible. 
Many  scholarly  men  possess  faith,  but  cannot  ex- 
plain it  clearly.  They  believe,  but  cannot  tell  how 
they  do  it.  Suppose  a  penitent  sinner  were  to  ask 
you  how  to  believe  and  to  tell  him  the  real  meaning 
of  faith,  what  would  your  answer  be?  Oh,  you  say: 
"I  had  not  given  that  matter  any  thought.  I  know 
that  I  believe  in  Jesus  and  that  I  have  a  glorious 
experience  of  divine  grace.  I  am  perfectly  satisfied 
that  He  has  saved  me  from  my  sins.  Here  I  let 
questions  about  faith  rest,  and  do  not  perplex  my 
soul,  in  an  effort  to  unravel  them"  —  very  good. 
But  still  it  has  a  meaning,  that  is  accessible  to  any 
ordinary  Bible  reader.  Hodge,  in  his  ^'Outlines," 
(and  he  follows  the  Church  Fathers),  in  my  opinion, 
gives  the  clearest  and  most  succinct  definition  of  faith, 
that  I  have  ever  read.  Faith,  as  a  religious  belief, 
embraces  the  essential  and  fundamental  teachings  of 

[69] 


CHRIST  TRIUMPHANT 

both  Testaments.  It  is  composed  of  three  distinct  spir- 
itual elements,  viz;  (a)  knowledge;  (b)  assent,  and 
(c)  trust.  God  does  not  require  faith  of  any  one  that 
has  no  ability  or  means  of  uderstanding.  Infants  and 
idiots  are  saved  without  faith,  tho  neither,  the  infant 
or  idiot,  could  enter  heaven  in  the  natural  state,  hence 
they  are  changed  or  spiritually  transformed  at  death. 
Regeneration  is  God's  exclusive  method  of  imparting 
divine  life  to  a  natural  soul.  So,  irresponsible  per- 
sons are  saved  by  grace  without  faith,  and  responsi- 
ble ones  are  saved  by  grace  thru  faith.  Christ  says : 
"Ye  must  be  born  again."  Regeneration  evidently 
precedes  faith,  while  repentance,  in  the  order  of  salva- 
tion, comes  before  the  new  birth.  Men  capable  of 
being  instructed  in  the  things  concerning  the  king- 
dom, are  commanded  to  repent.  Repentance  is  God's 
only  provision  of  mercy  for  a  person  condemned  un- 
der law.  It  is  the  recognition  of  an  awakened  soul 
seeking  to  return  to  God,  and  at  the  same  time  ac- 
knowledging in  his  own  heart  the  righteous  verdict 
of  the  law,  and  his  deserved  banishment  from  the 
presence  of  God.  Repentance  is  towards  God  — 
always  having  God  under  consideration  as  the 
Supreme  Judge  of  the  earth,  and  His  terrible  wrath 
continually  in  the  purview  of  His  eternal  destiny. 
Repentance  is  therefore  never  towards  Christ,  be- 
cause He  is  our  substitute  and  voluntarily  meets  our 
penalty,  and  dies  for  the  absolution  of  our  sins,  under 
the  law,  hence  Paul  says,  "repentance  towards  God 

[70] 


FAITH   IN    CHRIST 

and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ."  Hence,  one  cannot  be- 
lieve in  Jesus  until  repentance  has  been  exercised 
for  transgressions  of  the  law  and  in  obedience  to 
God,  as  Creator,  and  judge,  and  neither  can  one  exer- 
cise repentance  without  a  historical  belief  in  a  Su- 
preme Being.  Therefore,  the  Bible  contains  no  prom- 
ise of  hope  for  an  impenitent,  rebellious,  self-centered 
person,  but  on  the  contrary  every  page  reflects  the 
lurid  lightnings  of  vengeance,  heralding  the  coming 
storm  of  judgment,  in  terrible  fury  and  unstayed 
destruction  of  disbelievers.  Let  us  notice  now  the 
first  element  in  faith.  Knowledge  of  the  truth  in  a 
limited  sense  at  least,  is  necessary  to  faith.  It  is  an 
indisputable  fact,  that  every  unsaved  person,  who 
has  been  permitted  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  evan- 
gelical instructions,  given  from  the  pulpit,  or  who 
has  personally  studied  the  word  of  God,  in  a  careless 
or  indifferent  way,  as  to  that  matter,  has  sufficient 
knowledge  of  Christian  duty,  and  divine  obligations 
to  bring  his  soul  under  the  awful  guilt  of  sinning 
against  light,  but  it  is  also  true  that  all  persons  are 
intellectually  qualified  to  believe. 

Reader,  if  you  were  summoned  to  appear  in  the 
presence  of  God  this  moment,  could  you  sincerely  and 
truthfully  say  that  you  had  not  been  given  the 
chance  to  be  saved,  or  admitting  that  you  had,  but 
that  you  did  not  have  the  power  to  believe  it?  The 
second  element  in  faith  is  inseparably  joined  to  the 
first  one,  that  we  have  just  been  discussing.     It  is 

[71] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

next  to  impossible  for  a  person  to  be  instructed  in 
the  affairs  of  God's  kingdom  and  to  possess  a  limited 
knowledge  of  Bible  truth,  without  giving  his  assent 
to  the  veracity  and  credibility  of  the  truths  reported. 
But  those  two  elements  are  metaphysical,  incorporat- 
ing a  measure  of  moral  force  and  power,  giving  one 
a  clear  understanding  of  the  weighty  and  responsible 
matter  of  moral  judgment,  that  can  only  come  thru 
the  conviction  of  the  law.  Paul  says,  "by  the  law  is 
the  knowledge  of  sin."  Again  he  says,  that  "the 
Gentiles  were  a  law  unto  themselves,"  showing  that 
the  moral  law,  or  Mosaic  decalogue,  was  written  on 
their  consciences,  a  fact  which  is  demonstrated  in  the 
experiences  of  all  men  of  every  race  and  tongue  and  in 
all  the  ages  of  the  world,  being  revealed  (1)  in  the  uni- 
versal belief  of  all  people  or  peoples  in  the  Supreme 
Being  and  (2)  in  the  power  and  mental  ability  of  men, 
in  every  state  of  existence,  civilized  or  heathen,  to  form 
a  correct  moral  judgment  touching  matters  relating  to 
the  rights  of  each  other,  and  the  natural  yearning  of 
their  hearts,  untutored  tho  they  may  be  to  understand 
and  gain  intelligent  access  to  God,  and  acquire  a  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  Him,  whom  they  in  their  ignorance 
and  corrupt  or  benighted  state,  vainly  worship.  Spir- 
itual conviction  of  sin  finds  its  basis  in  the  above  men- 
tioned conditions  of  human  nature.  Though  fallen, 
man  is  a  moral  creature.  And  the  first  awakening 
that  the  soul  receives,  giving  it  the  power  of  repent- 
ance, and  the  moral  courage  and  spiritual  strength 

[72] 


FAITH    IN    CHRIST 

to  turn  to  God,  comes  thru  the  conviction  of  the 
holy  spirit,  superhumanly  and  dynamically  per- 
formed. His  conviction  is  absolutely  effective  in  the 
above  sense,  of  bringing  about  a  moral  reform  in  the 
penitent,  and  his  complete  spiritual  transformation. 
And  tho  the  holy  spirit  is  not  the  sheriff  of  the  law, 
and  does  not  make  any  effort  to  arrest  the  sinner  in 
his  rebellious  career,  and  reform  him  on  the  basis  of 
legal  enactments,  that  has  already  resulted  in  his 
certain  condemnation  and  ultimate  judgment,  unless 
he  is  extricated  from  the  toils  of  the  law,  neverthe- 
less the  holy  spirit  takes  the  advantage  of  the  pre- 
vious knowledge  of  the  sinner  of  his  condemned 
state,  and  uses  it,  incidentally,  in  making  his  own 
personal  conviction,  based  upon  the  grace  of  God, 
that  has  its  truest  manifestation  in  the  death  of 
Jesus,  which  fact  being  the  source  of  atonement,  is 
reported  in  the  gospel  and  brings  all  classes  of  sin- 
ners under  the  law,  directly  responsible  for  the  trag- 
edy of  Calvary,  and  convicts  them  for  the  heinous 
crime  of  deicide,  in  the  absence  of  ''their  repentance" 
toward  God  and  faith  in  Jesus.  Therefore  the  holy 
spirit,  being  the  agent  of  salvation,  convicts  men, 
because  they  do  not  believe  in  Jesus.  The  basis 
then  of  His  work  of  conviction  is  the  grace  of  God 
that  is  revealed  in  the  atonement  of  Christ,  thru 
which  it  secures  effectively  the  salvation  of  those 
who  believe.  Hence  Paul  thus  testifies:  ''I  am  not 
ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  for  it  is  the  power 

[73] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

of  God  unto  salvation."  The  gospel  then  brings 
faith  —  the  faith  —  once  for  all  delivered  entirely 
out  of  the  realm  of  law  unto  which  it  was  shut  up  in 
past  ages,  being  kept  for  the  manifestation  of  Jesus, 
and  out  of  the  sphere  of  the  sj^mbolism  of  Judaism, 
into  its  own  sphere,  viz:  The  spiritual  environment 
of  gospel,  and  true  Christian  ideals  established  and 
preserved  by  the  personal  supervision  of  the  holy 
spirit  —  the  vicegerent  of  Jesus.  Hence  the  third 
element  of  faith,  trust  or  affiance,  or  recumbency, 
as  the  old  writers  called  it,  is  essential  to  a  finished 
and  well  rounded  faith.  The  New  Testament  scrip- 
ture emphasizes  the  fact,  that  faith  is  a  composite, 
trinitarian  grace.  It  cannot  therefore,  be  brought  to 
its  full  fruitage,  so  long  as  the  element  of  loving 
trust  is  absent.  It  is  almost  universally  true  that  all 
classes  of  sinners,  the  thoughtlessly  careless,  willfully 
indifferent  and  even  hopeless  reprobates,  possess  the 
first  two  elements  of  taith,  which  is  proven  by  the 
fact  that  they  are  conscious  of  guilt  —  accept  the 
death  of  Christ  for  sinners  as  a  historical  fact  — 
believing  in  a  judgment  to  come,  and  furthermore,  ac- 
knowledge that  Jesus  has  power  to  save,  and  that  He 
does  save,  and  according  to  their  opnion,  He  is  the 
Savior  of  all  men,  ''specially  of  them  that  believe." 
But  to  them  He  is  not  their  Savior,  but  simply  some- 
body's Savior  —  or  simply  a  Savior.  To  illustrate 
the  point,  and  to  make  it  clear,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  it  is  not  the  gold  in  the  mine,  nor  the  bul- 

[74] 


FAITH   IN    CHRIST 

lion  in  the  mint,  that  liquidates  the  indebtedness  of 
the  national  government,  but  the  minted  coin  of  the 
realm,  that  is  reserved  in  government  depositories. 
And  it  is  not  the  money  of  another  man  that  pays 
our  debts,  but  that  which  we  have  in  our  pockets  or 
the  bank.  Jesus  saves  us  in  the  same  way,  from  the 
indebtedness  to  God,  His  Father  under  law,  or  in 
the  possessive  case,  becoming  our  real  personal  Sav- 
ior, from  sin  and  eternal  misery  in  the  world  to 
come.  We  cannot  be  saved  by  proxy,  nor  upon  the 
merits  of  our  parents,  nor  our  spiritual  advisor's, 
nor  our  Christian  friend's  faith.  Jesus  is  a  jealous 
God,  and  must  have  the  supreme  love,  and  first  place 
in  our  hearts,  or  He  will  not  save  us,  and  faith  as  a 
living  personal  trust  is  the  only  thing  that  we  can 
do  that  will  enable  us  to  give  it  to  Him. 

The  Conquering  Grace 

''This  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world; 
even  our  faith."  This  is  just  as  true  of  natural 
faith,  as  it  is  of  spiritual,  or  saving  faith.  Natural 
faith  is  the  basic  principle  of  human  association  and 
society.  The  old  adage,  ''birds  of  a  feather  flock 
together"  contains  an  ancient  philosophy  of  human 
life,  that  has  had  its  demonstration  in  every  age,  and 
in  all  the  affairs  of  men,  especially  all  those  concerned 
in  organized  efforts  for  the  accomplishment  of  part- 
icular aims.    It  will  be  a  sad  day  in  the  history  of 

[75] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

the  world,  when  men  so  far  lose  confidence  in  one 
another,  as  to  withold  responsible  and  valuable 
pledges  of  trust,  and  refuse  to  have  intimate  political, 
social,  religious  and  commercial  intercourse  with 
each  other.  Natural  faith  has  produced  all  the  great 
combinations  of  wealth,  corporations  involving  a 
multiplicity  of  commercial  interests,  and  all  combina- 
tions, representing  the  consolidation  of  the  mutual 
affairs  of  all  men  composing  the  circumscribed  group. 
It  is  the  foundation  of  every  great  city,  and  town, 
and  village,  and  nation,  kingdom  and  empire,  thruout 
the  world.  It  is  the  genius  of  national  peace,  the  spirit 
of  progress  that  directs  in  the  development  of  the 
arts  and  sciences,  and  that  secures  the  prosperity 
and  happiness  of  civilized  men.  And  were  it  to  be 
destroyed  the  world  would  be  plunged  into  a  state  of 
social  and  political  pandemonium;  anarchy,  the  pol- 
itical madness  of  Utopian  dreamers,  would  supplant 
organized  governments  and  a  reign  of  inhuman  car- 
nage, social  injustice,  and  atheistic  ideals,  would  re- 
sult. Destroy  natural  faith,  and  you  can  bankrupt 
every  business,  every  banking  house,  railroad  corp- 
oration, and  commercial  trust,  of  every  kind.  It  is 
the  foundation  of  every  great  enterprise  that  exists 
today,  and  that's  proving  beneficial  to  all  men. 
Eliminate  it  from  the  affairs  of  men,  and  you  will 
illumine  the  torch  of  incendiarism,  put  a  dagger, 
dripping  with  innocent  blood,  in  the  hand  of  a  cow- 
ardly assassin,  and  put  a  bomb  of  picric  acid  under 

[76] 


FAITH   IN    CHRIST 

the  foundation  of  all  civic  life,  and  a  reign  of  terror, 
similar  to  that  of  the  French  Revolution  would  re- 
sult, and  peace,  integrity,  virtue,  honor  and  personal 
security,  would  perish,  and  a  bedlam  of  iniquity 
would  inaugurate  hell  on  earth.  And  it  is  not  strain- 
ing the  truth,  to  assert  that  natural  faith  contributes 
a  large  share  to  the  development  of  the  church, 
whose  chief  security  consists  in  the  exercise  of  a 
finished  faith  that  embraces  the  third  principle,  or 
that  of  loving  trust.  Faith  as  a  spiritual  virtue  is 
almost  omnipotent.  It  brings  power  and  strength  to 
the  tempted  soul,  enabling  us  to  prevail  against  the 
seductive  influence  and  machinations  of  Satan.  It 
is  related  of  the  Puritans,  during  the  days  of  Crom- 
well, that  they  went  forth  to  battle  against  the  Royal- 
ists, believing  that  they  were  divinely  directed  by 
the  Lord,  and  that  they  were  fighting  for  His  glory, 
and  could  not  be  defeated.  It  is  remarkable  that  in 
the  course  of  the  civil  war,  men  from  the  forges,  the 
plow  and  the  marts  of  trade,  met  trained  Cavaliers 
on  their  own  ground,  and  defeated  them.  The  Roy- 
alists were  mighty  men  of  military  valor,  but  they 
could  not  stand  before  the  zealous  assaults  of  the 
Puritan  army,  which  was  inspired  by  a  religious 
faith.  The  motto  of  the  two  armies  presents  an  inter- 
esting contrast;  that  of  the  Royalists  were  these 
words:  "King  and  Queen  Mary!"  "Hey!  for  Caval- 
iers ! "  and  that  of  the  Puritans :  ' '  Truth  and  peace  ! ' ' 
' '  God  is  with  us ! "  They  advanced  to  the  conflict  and 

[77] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

mingled  with  the  roar  of  musketry  and  the  clash  of 
steel  the  sound  of  psalms  and  spiritual  songs.  Faith 
is  the  genius  of  Christianity  —  the  source  and  imper- 
ishable foundation  of  civilization.  It  has  enriched 
the  history  of  humanity.  Every  great  achievement 
and  heroic  example  of  piety,  self-denial  and  martyr- 
dom, recorded  in  sacred  writ,  reflects  its  virtue  and 
holy  power.  It  inspires  the  hearts  of  men  with 
courage  in  the  face  of  danger.  It  is  the  secret  of 
David's  matchless  deeds  of  bravery  and  patriotism. 
It  crowned  Gideon  with  success,  and  was  the  girding 
of  power  to  Moses  and  Joshua  and  Sampson,  who  put 
to  ''flight  the  armies  of  aliens."  ''And  what  shall 
I  more  say?"  Shall  I  further  speak  of  that  long  list 
of  godly  worthies  who  wrought,  thru  the  faith  of 
Jesus,  miraculous  works,  establishing  Christian 
ideals,  before  whose  triumphant  march  thrones  were 
overturned,  and  wicked  dynasties  brought  to  desola- 
tion, building  upon  their  ruins,  enduring  temples  of 
righteousness  ? ' '  Faith  is  a  certain  image  of  eternity. 
All  things  are  present  to  it  —  things  past,  and  things 
to  come. 

*'But  even  if  human  eyes  see  not, 

No  one  is  unobserved — 
There  are  censures  deep  and  plaudits  high 

As  each  may  be  deserved; 
We  cannot  live  in  a  secret  place; 

There  are  watchers  always  by, 
For  heaven   and  earth   are  full   of  life, 

And  God  is  ever  nigh." 

[78] 


CHAPTER  V 

Our  Home 

''Lamping  thy  tuneful  soul  to  that  large  noon 

Where  thou  shalt  choir  with  angels.     Words  of  woe 

Are  for  the  unfulfilled,  not  thee,  whose  moon 
Of  genius  sinks  full-orbed,  glorious  aglow." 

''No  moaning  of  the  bar;  musical  drifting 

Of  time's  waves,  turning  to  the  eternal  sea, 

Deaths  soft  wind  all  thy  gallant  canvass  lifting, 
And  Christ  thy  pilot  to  the  peace  to  be.'' 

"In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions." 
Jno.  14 :2.  The  scene  is  laid  in  a  small  home  in  Waco, 
Texas.  An  only  daughter  is  lingering  on  the  border 
of  the  great  divide.  She  v^as  rapidly  approaching 
the  coronation  period  of  her  short  career.  She  went 
home  the  eighteenth  day  of  April,  1913.  This  was 
the  darkest  day  in  the  history  of  myself  and  of  my 
lonely,  heart-broken  wife.  But  it  has  its  bright  side 
—  as  every  cloud  has  its  silver  lining.  The  moments 
and  minutes  and  hours  that  composed  it  are  swal- 
lowed up  in  an  endless  eternity.  The  mistakes,  lost 
opportunities,  misfortunes  and  soul-harrowing  cal- 
amities that  transpired  during  its  passage  are  mat- 
ters of  record  with  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth. 
Though  clouds  and  shadows  came  vdth  it,  yet  it  was 
beautiful  in  the  extreme  in  comparison  with  the  days 

[79] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

of  sorrow  and  misery  that  passed  thru  the  exper- 
iences of  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  God,  and 
whose  loved  ones  are  not  prepared  to  go  into  His 
presence,  but  who,  in  spite  of  neglected  opportuni- 
ties to  repent  and  make  their  peace  with  God,  in 
obedience  to  His  word  have  had  to  go  away  unpre- 
pared. Dawning  fair  and  bright,  it  rose  upon  our 
storm-tossed  world,  and  like  a  heavenly  messenger 
dispatched  from  the  throne  of  God,  opened  wide  the 
gates  of  life,  pouring  in  upon  our  shadow-haunted 
earth  billows  of  radiant  light  that,  rolling  over 
oceans  and  seas,  snow-capped  mountains,  moss-cover- 
ed hills,  and  clover-laden  valleys,  kissing  the  frag- 
rant smiles  back  to  the  petals  of  the  drooping  rose, 
dissolving  raindrops  that  lingered  lovingly  upon  the 
cheek  of  the  modest  little  pink,  and  bathing  forest 
and  glen,  orchard  and  garden,  in  roseate  crimson- 
tinted  light,  dispelling  the  clouds,  chasing  away  the 
shadows,  awakening  all  nature,  and  making  the 
world  glad  with  the  music  of  multitudinous,  feath- 
ered songsters.  And  in  the  time  of  our  deepest  sor- 
row, how  forcibly  were  we  reminded  of  the  heavenly 
Canaan,  whither  our  darling  daughter  had  gone  — 
where  sunlight  skies  are  ever  cloudless,  sin  never 
comes,  nor  misery  with  its  deplorable  tale  of  woe, 
nor  poverty  with  its  haggard  face  and  mendicant 
garb,  ever  enters.  There,  all  are  pure,  all  are  hap- 
py, all  are  rich.  As  I  looked  into  her  pale,  dead 
face,  I  was  reminded  of  a  dark,  dismal  night  in  the 

[80] 


OUR   HOME 

past  when  her  sick  papa  was  entertained  and  cheer- 
ed, as  she  performed  in  her  childish  way  upon  the 
organ  and  sang: 

' '  Jesus  lover  of  my  soul, 

Let   me   to    thy   boson   fly; 
While  the  nearer  water's  roll, 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high. ' ' 

Then  I  cannot  help  exclaiming,  "Jesus  paid  it 
all;  all  to  Him  I  owe."  Yea,  time,  talents,  love,  ser- 
vice, body,  soul,  eternal  salvation,  everlasting  glory. 
He  paid  the  ransom  price  for  our  souls,  and  gave  us 
a  glorious  heritage  on  high,  and  He  is,  therefore,  en- 
titled to  our  service  here,  and  our  personal  presence 
over  there.  Here  we  have  no  permanent  abiding 
place,  but  by  His  grace  we  have  the  promise  of  one 
"that  hath  foundations"  "eternal  in  the  heavens," 
' '  whose  building  and  maker  is  God. "  "  I  go  to  prepare 
a  place  for  you."  Heaven  is  a  prepared  place.  We 
may  hold  widely  divergent  views  regarding  the 
present  abode  of  disembodied  spirits,  yet  all  must 
admit  that  heaven  is  a  prepared  place,  or  rather  that 
in  heaven,  Christ  has  provided  a  place  of  abode,  spe- 
cially for  his  people.  "In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions."  I  understand  the  Savior  to  mean,  by  the 
phrase  "many  abodes,"  separate  dwelling  places  for 
different  orders  of  beings.  Angels  are  evidently  not 
all  of  the  same  order.  Some  have  more  glory,  some 
more  power  than  others.  There  are  lower  and  higher 
orders  among  them,  but  all  of  them  are  highly  hon- 

[81] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

ored  by  being  created  servants  of  the  blessed  Trinity. 
Hence  there  are  provided  abodes  in  God's  house 
(oikiai)  befitting  the  character  of  service  that  thoy 
render  and  consonant  to  the  honor  that  he  conferred 
upon  them,  in  their  separate  ranks.  Hence,  with 
this  view  of  the  subject,  we  are  better  prepared  to 
understand  the  language,  ''many  abodes,"  and  "I  go 
to  prepare  a  place  for  you."  But  some  one  may  ask, 
"Was  there  not  a  place  prepared  for  God's  people 
prior  to  the  death,  resurrection  and  ascension  of 
Christ,  and  whither  they  have  been  gathered  since 
the  world  began?"  Certainly!  Enoch  and  Elijah, 
who  were  translated  that  they  should  not  see  death, 
and  Moses,  who  I  believe  was  raised  from  the  dead, 
because  the  scriptures  speak  about  war  having  oc- 
cured  between  the  heavenly  host,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Michael,  and  the  demons  of  the  pit  led  by 
Satan,  over  his  body,  and  all  those  who  were  raised 
when  Jesus  died  and  went  into  the  city  of  Jerusal- 
em, have  more  liberty,  perhaps,  than  either  angels 
or  disembodied  spirits  in  Paradise,  and  are  allowed 
to  roam  at  will,  thru  the  vast  domain  of  the  unseen 
realms  above.  "They  are  as  the  angels"  and  have 
been  "accounted  worthy  to  obtain  that  world  and 
the  resurrection  from  the  dead,"  but  as  to  the  place 
of  their  present  abode,  unless  it  is  Paradise,  the 
scriptures  are  silent  on  the  subject;  however,  tho 
meager,  scripture  accounts  of  them  are  sufficiently 
explicit  to  warrant  us  in  saying  that  their  residence 

[82] 


OUR   HOME 

is  in  the  heaven  above.  Here  I  let  the  curtain  fall. 
Moses  and  Elijah  appeared  in  the  mount  of  transfig- 
uration with  Jesus ;  since  then,  the  Bible  concerning 
them  is  a  sealed  book.  Paradise  is  the  intermediate 
state  of  the  righteous  dead,  the  place  whither  the 
"justified  spirits  of  men  made  perfect"  thru  "blood 
of  sprinkling,"  have  come,  from  Abel  down  to  the 
present.  Christ,  in  company  with  the  penitent  thief, 
went  there  and  remained  during  the  interval  between 
His  death  and  resurrection.  Lazarus  and  all  the 
saved,  who  have  put  off  "this  mortal  coil"  are  there 
patiently  awaiting  the  return  of  our  Lord  to  this 
earth,  which  event  will  witness  the  coming  of  those 
"justified  spirits  made  perfect,"  with  Jesus  and  the 
angels,  to  receive  their  bodies  and  to  be  glorified. 

Then  we  will  enter  those  blest  abodes,  that 
Christ  has  prepared  for  his  redeemed  and  resurrected 
people.  "When  I  come  again  I  will  receive  you  un- 
to myself."    Here  I  leave  this  part  of  the  subject. 

Readers,  study  your  Bible  and  draw  your  own 
conclusion.  Heaven  is. a  place  of  light.  Heaven  as  a 
state  begins  in  the  soul,  and  the  very  first  experi- 
mental knowledge  that  we  receive  of  heaven  comes 
immediately  after  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins.  How 
can  a  man  be  happy  until  God  has  pardoned  his  sins ! 
A  soul  in  darkness,  lost  in  sin,  could  not  appreciate 
it,  if  it  knew  that  a  place  was  actually  reserved  in 
heaven  for  it.     God  operates  first  upon  the  heart, 

[83] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

changing  our  nature,  spiritualizing  the  soul,  so  as  to 
render  it  capable,  in  some  small  sense,  to  appreciate 
the  inheritance  of  light  and  then  He  reserves  the  in- 
heritance for  us.  Heaven  is  day  without  night.  The 
light  that  emanates  from  the  ''Father  of  lights"  and 
that  guides  our  weary  footsteps  in  the  way  of  holi- 
ness, will  grow  brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  com- 
ing of  the  perfect  day.  Heaven  is  a  place  of  perfect 
rest.  Not  that  idleness  prevails ;  on  the  contrary,  we 
shall  be  more  active  than  now.  The  citizens  of  that 
''better  country"  ceaselessly  serve  God,  but  never 
tire,  never  grow  weary,  never  exhaust  their  energies. 
Employment  is  essential  to  the  soul's  contentment. 
Moses  is  not  "a  wandering  Jew,"  nor  Joshua  a  re- 
tired hero,  David  a  harpless  Quaker,  Isaiah  an  idle 
dreamer,  nor  Paul  a  visionless  preacher.  Neither  is 
Peter  a  dreaming  visionary,  a  spiritual  prophet,  nor 
John  a  sighing  sentimentalist.  Has  Peter  lost  his 
intrepidity,  Robert  Hall  his  industry,  Spurgeon,  Tal- 
mage,  Beecher,  the  knowledge  and  use  of  their  inspir- 
ing and  instructive  eloquence?  Nay,  who  can  tell 
but  that  the  capacity  of  all  the  saved  to  receive  and 
communicate  happiness,  and  also  the  opportunity 
to  work  out  many  of  the  problems  of  life,  that  were 
sealed  mysteries  to  them  here,  and  also  to  investigate 
many  of  the  hidden  truths  of  the  scriptures  that 
were  beyond  their  reach  in  this  life,  is  greatly  in- 
creased and  made  more  efficient  in  the  great  beyond. 

[84] 


OUR   HOME 

' '  0  holy  dwelling  place  of  God ! 
0  glorious  city  all  divine! 
Thy  streets,  by  feet  of  Seraphs  trod, 

Shall  one  glad  day  be  trod  by  mine, ' ' 

Then,  when  heaven's  gate  is  entered,  the  shad- 
ows will  all  flee  away.  No  night  there.  Security 
without  temptation.  Safety  without  danger.  The 
gates  that  swing  out  to  let  Christ  come  to  this  sin- 
cursed  earth  will  swing  back  to  let  us  in,  and  they 
will  never  be  shut.  No  need  to  close  them.  The  host  of 
darkness  will  have  been  vanquished,  and  driven  down 
to  the  regions  of  eternal  despair,  where  they  will  be 
shut  in  with  their  sins  forever.  There  will  be  no 
strikes  in  heaven,  because  all  will  be  Kings  and 
Priests  unto  God,  hence  on  an  equality  with  each 
other.  There  will  be  no  poverty  there,  for  all  will  be 
rich.  Nor  will  there  be  any  servant  girls,  with  fin- 
gers worked  to  the  bone,  in  order  to  make  a  bare 
living,  sewing  garments  for  the  rich,  nor  honest 
employees  of  any  trade  or  profession,  hounded  down 
into  beggary  and  want  by  some  petty  tyrant,  the 
creature  of  an  unjust  commercial  system,  because  all 
will  be  ''heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ." 
Oh,  earth,  what  awful  ruin  sin  hath  wrought  among 
thine  inhabitants !  Thy  soil  is  drenched  in  the  blood 
of  honest  hearts,  crushed  under  the  iron  heel  of  ty- 
ranny, and  inhuman  oppression !  In  this  connection, 
how  significant  are  the  sad  lines  of  Robert  Bums: 

[85] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

''Many  and  sharp  the  numerous  ills 

Inwoven  with  our  frame, 
More  pointed  still  we  make  ourselves 

Regret,  remorse  and  shame! 
And  man,  whose  heaven-erected   face, 

The  smiles  of  love  adorn, 
Man's  inhumanity  to  man 

Makes  countless  millions  mourn.'' 

The  above  lines  are  so  applicable  to  our  time, 
that  they  appear  almost  to  have  been  inspired.  Wars, 
tumults,  riots,  calamities,  pestilences,  famines,  lost 
character,  ruined  lives,  withered  hopes,  wrecked 
homes,  broken  hearts,  and  death !  death !  death ! 
Thank  God,  none  of  this  in  heaven!  No  broken 
family  ties  there.  No  mother's  tears  shed  for  the 
wandering  boy  or  girl,  lured  from  the  parental  roof 
into  sin's  treacherous  path,  ne'ermore  to  return. 
Good-byes  will  never  be  said,  benedictions  pro- 
nounced, nor  doxologies  sung,  as  there  will  be  no 
wanderings  from  heaven,  and  congregations  will 
ne'er  break  up.  Here  in  this  vale  of  shadows  we 
sing: 

''Hark!  from  the  tomb  a  doleful  sound! 
Mine  ears  attend  the  cry; 
Yea  living  men,  come  view  the  ground 
Where  you  must  shortly  lie." 

But  in  view  of  His  Second  Coming,  and  our  eter- 
nal emancipation  from  sin,  and  ultimate  glorification 
in  His  kingdom,  our  hearts  are  filled  with  ''joy  that 
is  unspeakable,"  and  we  shout: 

[86] 


OUR   HOME 

*' Bright  glories  rush  upon  my  sight, 
And  charm  my  wondering  eyes — 
The  regions  of  immortal  life, 
The  beauties  of  the  skies. 

All  hail,  ye  fair,  celestial  shores 

Ye  lands  of  endless  day; 
A  right   delight  your  prospect  pours, 

And  drives  my  griefs  away." 

All  the  foregone  considerations  are  delightful, 
and  exceedingly  refreshing  to  the  weary  spirit  of  all 
earth  wanderers.  Here,  in  this  laJnd  of  shadows 
and  disappointing  enterprises  and  profitless  pursuits, 
we  grow  weary  and  become  restless,  many  times  even 
wishing  that  we  could  reach  the  last  milestone  in  the 
journey  and  from  the  crossroads  of  life  wave  a  long 
adieu  to  our  earth  companions  and  then  cross  over 
the  river  of  death,  and  ''rest  under  the  shade  of  the 
trees."  The  heaven-kissed  soul  of  Beecher  expresses 
the  upward  longing  of  every  Christain  spirit,  in  the 
following  beautiful   words : 

* '  One  should  go  to  sleep  at  night  as  homesick  passengers  do. 
Saying,  *' Perhaps  in  the  morning  we  shall  see  the  shore." 

I  do  not  care  for  a  carnal  heaven  of  a  Mahomet. 
Such  an  institution,  visible  or  invisible,  could  not 
partake  of  the  purity  and  spiritual  genius  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  could  not  therefore,  be  a  place  of  delight 
and  enjoyment  to  a  Christian,  because  the  entire 
environment  would  be  out  of  harmony  with  our  re- 
generated natures.     All  homes  are  builded  upon  a 

[87] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

principle  of  domestic  purity,  having  the  divine  sanc- 
tion of  Jehovah,  hence  the  foundation  of  civic,  social 
and  religious  life,  as  it  involves  the  association  of 
those  of  our  kind,  is  similar  in  its  basic  structure. 
All  homes  are  not  composed  of  the  same  personali- 
ties, but  have  the  same  true  foundation,  therefore  the 
home  is  a  type  of  our  heavenly  home.  God's  child- 
ren here,  are  strangers  and  pilgrims  in  the  earth.  We 
are  away  from  home,  and  it  is  but  natural  for  the 
heart  of  the  wandering  son  or  daughter  to  meditate 
upon  the  beauty,  the  promised  glory  and  joy  of  hea- 
ven. Heaven  then  is  a  place  of  unity,  and  its  inhab- 
itants will  be  as  one  great  family.  There  will  be 
distinct  and  separate  personalities  in  heaven,  the 
identity  of  every  person  and  angel  will  be  preserved ; 
hence  the  much  desired  feature  of  individualism  as 
it  is  sought  in  social  and  religious  developments  here, 
will  be  brought  to  its  complete  and  finished  develop- 
ment in  heaven.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  phases  of 
life  in  heaven  will  be  the  demonstration  of  finished 
character  and  perfect  work.  Swedenborg's  dream 
of  heaven  was  chimerical  and  unreal.  It  was  a  place 
of  division  —  a  place  of  degrees,  or  in  other  words  it 
was  a  place  composed  of  different  sections,  members 
of  which  could  never  reach  sections  above  them,  or 
enter  into  their  associations  and  fellowship,  because 
they  were  lower  down  in  the  glorious  realms  of 
eternity.  It  is  true  that  heaven  is  not  one  broad  table 
land.     The  spiritual  oneness  of  the  inhabitants  of 

[88] 


OUR   HOME 

heaven,  will  be  individual  rather  than  collective. 
There  will  be  distinctions  between  persons  there,  just 
the  same  as  there  are  here,  but  each  one  in  heaven 
will  have  previously  experienced  the  unification  of  the 
physical  and  spiritual  natures  that  is  to  be  brought 
about  thru  the  immortalized  human  body  in  the  pro- 
cess of  instantaneous  resurrection.  There  will  be  a 
difference  in  the  rewards  possessed  by  those  who  were 
faithful  in  the  discharge  of  Christian  duty  in  this  life. 
And  there  will  be  some  who  will  not  have  the  reward 
that  is  bestowed  upon  those  who  are  patiently  and 
perseveringly  engaged  in  good  works,  trying  to  do 
the  Master's  will  daily,  because  the  character  of  work 
that  they  perform  was  not  according  to  His  revealed 
word.  Thus  Paul  says:  ''But  if  any  man  buildeth 
on  the  foundation  gold,  silver,  costly  stones,  wood, 
hay,  stubble ;  each  man 's  work  shall  be  made  manifest : 
for  the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  is  revealed  in 
fire;  and  a  fire  itself  shall  prove  each  man's  work  of 
what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  shall  abide  which 
he  built  thereon,  he  shall  receive  a  reward.  If  any 
man's  work  shall  be  burned,  he  shall  suffer  loss;  but 
he  himself  shall  be  saved;  yet  so  as  thru  fire."  I  Cor. 
3 :  12-15.  Now  the  question  arises  in  every  thoughtful 
mind,  did  the  Apostle  mean  to  teach  that  there  would 
be  degrees  in  heaven?  He  did  not;  he  taught  the 
very  reverse,  for  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  he  accepted 
the  view,  that  all  persons  who  enter  heaven  do  st» 
thru  the  unmerited  grace  of  God.     Regeneration — or 

[89] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

the  spiritualizing  of  human  nature,  is  all  the  prepara- 
tion that  one  needs  to  become  an  heir  of  God  and 
reach  heaven,  because  salvation  is  not  achieved  thru 
a  performance  of  a  system  of  good  works.  Jesus  said 
that  heaven  was  a  receptacle  for  good  works,  and  He 
called  it  the  Christians'  treasury,  and  encouraged  his 
disciples  to  lay  up  treasures  in  it,  rather  than  on  the 
earth,  where  moths  corrupted  and  thieves  broke  thru 
the  barriers  of  protection,  and  stole  our  treasury. 
Therefore,  a  person  who  is  making  all  manner  of 
sacrifices  and  indulging  all  kinds  of  self  denial,  bur- 
dening himself  with  ritualistic  service  without  ex- 
periencing the  grace  of  God  in  personal  salvation 
from  sin,  in  order  to  win  heaven,  is  laying  up  his 
treasures  on  earth,  and  not  in  heaven;  hence  the 
thief  of  eternity — Satan — who  has  stolen  away  the 
original  perfection  of  the  human  race,  will  despoil 
us  of  our  treasure  here,  unless  the  work  that  we  are 
doing  is  identified  with  the  nature  of  God,  and  par- 
takes of  the  spirituality  of  grace.  Good  works  must 
have  a  spiritual  nature,  in  that  they  are  the  legitimate 
fruitage  of  the  grace  of  God,  that  is  shed  abroad  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  our  hearts.  Every  man 's  work  must 
necessarily  partake  of  his  nature,  because  the  heart  is 
the  source  or  mainspring  of  life,  and  out  of  it  are  the 
issues  of  the  present  destiny,  and  also  the  invisible  one 
in  the  great  beyond.  If  the  heart  is  pure,  the  deeds 
of  the  life  will  be  pure  and  acceptable  to  God ;  but  if 
the  heart  is  impure,  the  corroding  moth  of  carnality 

[90] 


OUR   HOME 

will  leave  the  blight  of  sin  and  human  depravity  upon 
all  of  our  works,  even  the  best  that  we  perform. 
God  doesn't  accept  the  worship  nor  the  service  of 
criminals,  and  so  long  as  a  man  is  related  to  God  as 
his  Creator,  but  living  under  the  law  of  Moses,  he 
cannot  please  God  for  the  reason  that  the  law  is 
spiritual,  but  the  natural  creature  is  carnal,  sold  under 
sin.  Then  coming  back  to  the  Apostle's  statement  to 
the  Corinthians,  he  evidently  meant  to  teach  that  in 
heaven,  tho  there  will  be  a  difference  in  personal 
rewards  for  work  done  in  this  world,  and  also  a  dif- 
ference in  the  manifestation  of  glory,  as  it  is  expressed 
in  the  individual  form,  yet  all  would  be  happy,  not 
in  the  same  measure  of  rapture  or  joy,  but  according 
to  the  spiritual  capacity  of  each  person  to  enjoy  a 
plethora  of  happiness  and  eternal  glory.  He  further 
illustrates  the  point  under  consideration  in  his  dis- 
cussion of  the  resurrection.  He  says  there,  that  as  one 
star  ' '  differeth  from  another  star, "  so  it  would  be  true 
of  those  in  the  resurrection  of  their  bodies.  Some 
stars  are  brighter  than  other  stars,  but  all  of  them 
have  light,  and  tho  all  persons  in  the  resurrection  to 
the  blessed  immortality  of  the  gospel  will  not  have 
the  same  glorious  form,  yet  all  resurrected  persons  will 
have  glory-fllled  bodies.  Consequently  their  physical 
natures  will  be  blended  with  their  soul-natures,  and 
will  be  glorious,  majestic  and  God-like.  Evidently, 
some  persons  will  have  more  glory  and  a  larger  capac- 
ity for  the  enjoyment  of  heaven  than  others,  but  those 

[91] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

possessing  a  more  limited  nature  for  the  enjoyment 
of  the  glory  and  the  fellowship  and  communion  and 
love  of  such  great  characters  as  will  occupy  heaven  as 
Abraham,  Moses  and  the  Prophets  and  Apostles  and 
great  preachers  as  Spurgeon,  Talmadge,  Luther,  John 
Knox  and  the  martyrs,  who  entered  the  gates  of  glory 
stained  with  their  own  blood,  that  was  given  as  a  faith- 
ful testimony  to  the  power  of  Jesus  to  save  and  to 
furnish  the  church  an  imperishable  seed  that  gathered 
strength  and  fertility  for  the  production  of  a  glorious 
harvest  from  the  ash  heaps  of  Zion,  that  was  flung 
by  the  ruthless  hand  of  persecution  over  the  horizon 
of  a  world's  civilization,  —  all  those  will  not  be  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  any  other  person  is  enjoying 
more  of  heaven  than  they,  nor  will  they  be  able  to  see 
any  difference  in  the  lustrous  beauty  of  their  own 
forms  and  that  of  others.  For  all  will  be  glorious, 
bright,  having  a  star-like  beauty  fashioned  after  the 
glorified  person  of  Jesus,  and  possessing  immortality 
in  the  same  unchangeable  degree  and  quality  of  life 
that  was  secured  thru  His  obedience  to  His  Father,  in 
the  resurrection  of  His  perfected  physical  nature  from 
the  grave.  We  will  enter  into  the  same  fullness  of  life 
from  the  dead  as  He  possesses  it,  because  He  is  our 
leader  and  furnishes  the  complete  pattern  of  all  the 
redeemed.  Our  earthly  home  is  the  dearest  spot  on 
earth,  the  scene  of  our  purest  enjoyments  and  next  in 
interest  and  sincere  appreciation,  and  that  which  is 
always  remembered  with  delight,  is  the  land  of  our 

[92] 


OUR   HOME 

nativity.  And  it  is  true,  that  the  majority  of  men  in 
this  world  are  wanderers  from  their  paternal  home  and 
the  land  of  their  birth.  And  it  is  natural  for  the  heart 
of  a  sojourner  in  a  strange  country  to  feel  a  kindly 
interest  in  the  old  home,  and  to  keep  in  mind  the  kin- 
dred and  friends  of  other  days.  And  it  is  true  that  our 
Father  in  heaven  has  placed  in  our  hearts  an  imperish- 
able and  innate  desire  that  no  earthly  home  can  satisfy. 
The  heart  of  God's  child  longs  to  be  at  home,  and 
craves  the  satisfying  delights  of  heaven.  ' '  Home  with 
God,  with  loved  ones,  among  kindred  spirits  loving 
and  beloved,  and  in  the  midst  of  all  things  lovely  — 
what  more  could  be  desired  ? ' ' 

''0,  land  of  love!  0,  land  of  light  divine! 
Father,  All  wise,  Eternal! 
Guide  me,  0  guide  these  wandering  feet  of  mine 
Into  those  gates  Supernal!'' 


[93] 


CHAPTER  VI 

Pre-Eminence  of  Christ 

"Thy  throne,  0  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever;  And 
the  scepter  of  uprightness  is  the  scepter  of  thy  king- 
dom. Thou  hast  loved  righteousness  and  hated  ini- 
quity. Therefore,  God,  thy  God  hath  anointed  thee 
with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows."  Heb. 
I:  8,  9. 

The  Superior  Nature 

of  Christ  can  be  proven  from  many  scriptural  facts, 
but  to  undertake  to  translate  the  meaning  of  divinity 
through  the  veil  of  His  perfected  humanity,  would  re- 
sult in  disastrous  defeat,  strangling  faith,  blighting 
hope,  and  bringing  a  total  eclipse  of  reason ;  however, 
it  is  only  through  the  harmoniously  blended  and  eter- 
nally active,  co-equal  and  co-extensive  human  and  di- 
vine elements  in  the  nature  of  Jesus,  that  we  are  per- 
mitted to  retain  His  personal  presence,  experiment- 
ally, in  our  hearts.  History  corroborates  the  scrip- 
tures upon  the  fact  that  the  divinity  of  Jesus  is  the 
substantial  basis  of  Christianity,  but  a  special  revela- 
tion— such  as  only  the  scriptures  furnish — was  neces- 
sary in  explaining  and  proving  the  connection  be- 
tween His  divine  and  human  nature.  Thus  the  two- 
fold nature  of  Jesus  is  expressed  in  the  language  of 

[94] 


PRE-EMINENCE    OF    CHRIST 

John:  ''And  the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us."  But  the  distinction  that  exists  between 
the  human  and  the  divine  nature  of  Jesus,  is  care- 
fully preserved  in  the  Bible  statement,  the  latter  be- 
ing expressed  in  the  phrase,  ''Son  of  God,"  and  the 
former  as  its  correlative  in  that  of  "Son  of  man." 
Therefore  Jesus  is  not  a  deified  human  nor  a  human- 
ized God.  It  was  not  enough  for  us  to  have  an  ex- 
ample, or  a  teacher  or  a  sympathizing  friend.  We 
need  forgiveness  of  sins,  no  matter  how  objectionable 
to  us  or  repulsive  to  our  self-esteem — we  must  be  re- 
deemed— saved,  personally,  from  the  contamination  of 
sin  or  we  are  lost  forever. 

And  the  unequivocal  testimony  of  God's  word, 
from  cover  to  cover,  emphasizes  the  fact  that  our  re- 
demption is  in  Christ.  Paul  in  the  first  chapter  of  his 
letter  to  the  Colossians  most  wonderfully  expresses 
love  and  loyalty  to  Christ.  And  a  more  positive  state- 
ment of  his  divineness  could  not  be  framed.  He  is 
presented  as  the  only  one,  through  whom  we  have 
redemption,  and  who  has  made  atonement  for  our 
souls,  thru  the  shedding  of  His  blood.  By  His  stripes 
we  are  healed. 

In  order  to  be  able  to  atone  for  us.  He  must  be 
higher  and  more  than  man.  If  He  were  only  a  human 
being,  His  death  would  not  avail  for  His  own  salva- 
tion, to  say  nothing  of  others.  But  He  was  and  is 
very  God  of  very  God.  And  the  Father  so  recognizes 
His  divine  sonship,  His  uneclipsed  Godhead  and  the 

[95] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

eternal  duration  of  His  regal  authority  and  dominions. 
' '  Thy  throne  0  God  is  forever  and  ever. ' '  Thou  hast 
loved  righteousness  and  hated  iniquity.  Therefore 
God,  thy  God  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  glad- 
ness above  thy  fellows." 

''In  native  worth  and  honor  clad, 
With  beauty,  courage,  strength  adorned, 
Erect,  with  front  serene, 
He  stands  a  man,  the  Lord  and  King  of 
nature  all." 

Christ's  human  nature  in  which  he  suffered,  bled  and 
died  was  unfallen.  There  was  not  the  slightest  taint 
of  imperfection  or  pollution  in  it ;  hence,  having  given 
himself  a  perfect,  spotless  sacrifice  for  men,  God  has 
rewarded  him  for  the  service  by  promoting  him  to  the 
highest  place  of  enthronement  in  heaven,  as  the  only 
Mediator  between  God  and  man,  and  having  bestowed 
the  anointing  of  glory  and  gladness  upon  him  above 
all  creatures  in  earth  or  heaven. 

Christ  was  the  creator.  He  made  all  things  that 
exist  in  heaven  or  on  earth — visible  and  invisible, 
angels  and  men — all  were  created  by  Him,  and  for 
Him,  and  He  is  above  and  before  them  aU.  This  is  not 
merely  an  exuberant  or  excited  statement,  mentioned 
only  in  one  place.  The  same  is  said  in  the  first  chapter 
of  John.  Christ  or  the  second  Person  in  the  Trinity, 
is  the  manifestation  or  revealer.  He  is  the  Word  hy 
means  of  which  expression  is  given  to  those  things 
which  could  not  have  been  expressed  thru  any  other 

[96] 


PRE-EMINENCE    OF    CHRIST 

method.  He  is  the  express  image  of  God  and  in  Him 
we  see  and  know  God. 

The  Father  spoke  through  Jesus,  because  He  was 
the  brightness  of  His  glory — the  Word  of  His  power ; 
He  transferred  to  Him  the  administration  of  provi- 
dence— giving  him  a  "name  that  i^  above  every 
name."  And  ''when  He  made  purification  of  sins  sat 
down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  on  high ;  hav- 
ing become  by  so  much  better  than  the  angels,  as  he 
hath  inherited  a  more  excellent  name  than  they. ' ' 

The  Superior  Name 

of  Jesus  proves  the  superiority  of  His  nature.  He  is 
above  angels.  It  was  said  of  Christ:  "Thou  art  my 
Son;  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee.  Ask  of  me  and 
I  will  give  thee  the  nations  for  thine  inheritance.  And 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possessions." 
The  above  language  evidently  refers  to  the  ascension 
of  Jesus  to  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  on  high, 
from  whence  he  is  now  ruling  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  and  receiving  many  tithes  of  blood-washed 
spirits  from  among  the  Heathen  as  his  possession.  He 
was  never  more  imminently  manifest  in  any  age  of  the 
world,  since  His  death  on  Calvary,  than  He  is  today. 
Is  history  barren  of  evidence  of  incarnation  ? 

Has  Christ  failed  to  make  Himself  felt  as  a  potent 
factor  in  shaping  world  affairs,  and  presiding  over 
the  destiny  of  struggling  nations,  and  waning  em- 
pires?   Is  not  the  name  of  Jesus  the  crowning  glory 

[97] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

of  civilization,  and  does  it  not  shine  with  an  ever- 
increasing  luster  athwart  the  darkened  horizon  of 
nations  ?  ' '  Verily  thou  art  a  God  that  hidest  thyself, 
0  God  of  Israel  the  Savior."  God  says  concerning 
Christ,  but  never  about  the  angels :  "  I  will  be  to  him 
a  Father  and  He  shall  be  to  me  a  Son."  He  is  not 
only  the  Son  of  God  by  nature,  but  also  the  super- 
natural operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  produced 
His  human  nature  through  wonderful  conception.  All 
intelligent  creatures  are  required  to  worship  him.  The 
adoration  of  wise  men  and  angels  over  his  infant 
form  in  the  lowly  manger  of  Bethlehem  is  worthy  of 
emulation  by  all  mankind  below,  and  angels  above. 

God  has  crowned  His  Son  with  glory  and  honor 
and  endoweth  Him  with  supreme  authority  in  heaven 
and  on  earth,  hence  He  positively  commands  all  of  His 
angels  to  worship  Him.  Yes,  the  Father  has  enthroned 
Jesus  above  all  dominion  and  power,  and  He  shall 
reign  until  an  utter  end  is  made  of  anti-Christianism — 
the  unseen  force  that  has  plunged  the  world  into  a 
bloody  war.  The  Pan-Europeon  War  demonstrates 
the  utter  futility  of  national  plans  for  the  preservation 
of  universal  peace.  The  sentimentalist  shouts; 
"Peace,  peace,  when  there  is  no  peace."  But  Jesus 
says:  As  it  was  in  the  day  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
and  before  the  flood,  so  will  it  be,  when  I  return  to 
receive  my  kingdom.  There  will  also  be  wars  and 
rumors  of  wars  to  the  end  of  the  Gentile  Dispensation. 
And  the  only  visible  law,  recognized  by  the  European 

[98] 


PRE-EMINENCE    OF    CHRIST 

nations  that  are  engaged  in  conflict,  is  that  of  mili- 
tarism. But  it  is  also  true  that  the  only  power  of 
righteousness  existing  among  them  at  present,  is 
wielded  personally  by  Jesus,  the  God  and  maker  of 
history  who  "hides  himself."  And  although  this  war 
appears  to  be  unreasonable  and  wholly  unjustifiable — 
it  is  shockingly  inhuman  and  its  horrible  destruction 
indescribable — nevertheless  it  seems  to  have  been  in- 
evitable, and  could  not  be  avoided.  Anyway,  history 
demonstrates  that  world-progress  has  never  achieved 
permanency,  that  did  not  receive  its  initiative  and 
potentiality  by  the  clash  of  nations.  Bible  prophecy 
is  being  fulfilled  and  history  is  repeating  itself.  Out- 
worn philosophies  and  ecclesiastical  vagaries  are  being 
discarded  and  thoughtful  people  are  "inquiring  after 
the  old  paths"  and  are  earnestly  breaking  away  the 
age-long  encrustations  of  superstitious  thought  from 
the  divine  way-marks  of  truth. 

This  war  is  Har-Mageddon ;  at  least,  it  has  many 
indications  that  point  to  it,  as  the  last  great  cataclysm 
of  nations.  At  any  rate,  I  cannot  accept  the  present 
version  of  the  modernist,  viz. :  that  it  is  a  "  return  to 
barbarism. ' '  The  world  is  struggling  in  the  throes  of  a 
new  birth-travail  and  a  higher,  nobler,  purer  and  more 
humanitarian  civilization  will  be  the  legitimate  issue. 
The  future  will  witness  the  uprising  of  a  noble  spirit 
of  superaltruism  from  the  ruins  of  empires  and  the 
wreck  of  nations  that  will  bring  about  the  unity  of 
world  powers  and  inspire  mankind  with  sentiments  of 

[99] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

nobility,  eliminating  social  retrogression,  religious  re- 
actionism  and  political  animalism,  the  trinity  of  evils 
that  has  been  the  curse  of  civilization  from  its  intro- 
duction to  the  present  time.  But  thru  all  the  carnage 
of  war,  the  ingratitude  and  iniquity  of  nations,  reeking 
social  corruptions  and  inexcusable  political  defilements 
of  the  past,  Jesus  has  maintained  the  integrity  of  His 
throne,  and  today  His  scepter  of  power  is  lifted  upon 
the  horizon  of  conflicting  kingdoms,  the  blood  of 
whose  subjects  make  red  the  fair  fields  of  Europe. 
"The  scepter  of  righteousness  is  the  scepter  of  thy 
kingdom, ' '  0  Jesus — God  of  Host.  In  this  connection 
we  will  discuss 

The  Philosophic  Aspects  of  the  War 

Many  writers  are  of  the  opinion  that  in  the  present 
war,  civilization  is  undergoing  a  change  and  is  about 
to  collapse.  But  considered  in  the  light  of  the  social, 
intellectual,  and  religious  development  of  the  nations 
involved,  such  a  calamity  appears  to  be  impossible. 
God  still  rules  among  the  children  of  men,  and  in  His 
mysterious  way  He  is  directing  the  affairs  of  the  in- 
dividual, and  is  working  out  the  accomplishment  of 
His  will  for  the  establishment  of  a  more  glorious  des- 
tiny for  the  warring  nations  and  the  entire  world.  I 
frankly  admit  that  selfishness  is  a  largely  dominating 
element  in  the  war,  and  it  unquestionably  contributed 
to  the  opening  of  hostilities,  and  is  the  ruling  genius 
(?)  of  all  those  who  are  in  control  of  the  affairs  of 
[100] 


PRE-EMINENCE    OF    CHRIST 

the  different  nations.  Human  nature  is  super-abun- 
dantly in  the  ascendancy  and  it  is  a  regretable  fact 
that  its  worst  side  and  its  most  corrupt  and  destruct- 
ible feature  is  in  control,  at  the  present  time,  in  every 
avenue  of  life  and  in  all  departments  of  national  life. 
Men  are  seeking  the  gratification  of  the  lower  passions 
and  animalism  is  largely  suppressing  the  noble  prin- 
ciples of  truth,  culture,  the  arts,  higher  sciences  and 
spiritual  development.  The  carnal  in  man  is  exult- 
ingly  mastering  the  European  situation.  But  the 
aforegone  conclusions  do  not  prove  that  civilization 
is  lost  to  the  world,  nor  that  God  is  not  directing  the 
affairs  of  those  persons  who  are  conducting  the  Great 
War.  The  searching  trial  of  this  present  war,  or  of 
any  of  the  wars  of  the  past,  came  upon  mankind  not 
without  the  sovereign  permission  of  God. 

War  is  the  purgation  of  nations,  and  all  of  the 
wars  of  the  past  have  been  disciplinary  and  worked 
out  lasting  good  to  the  world.  And  evidently  the  evil 
tendencies  and  results  of  this  war  will  be  over-ruled 
by  the  Lord  Jesus  for  the  good  of  the  whole  world 
This  view  of  the  subject  is  more  reasonable  and  en- 
couraging to  Christians  and  should  be  accepted  by  all 
classes  of  men.  Suppose  that  it  has  arisen  without 
God's  permission,  and  that  His  influence  is  entirely 
eliminated,  then  would  it  not  be  true,  that  the  beliger- 
ents  would  not  be  conscious  of  any  divine  restraints 
and  God  would  be  inaccessible  to  them  ?  That,  within 
itself,  would  be  the  greatest  calamity  that  could  be- 

[101] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

fall  the  world.  Then  it  would  be  true,  that  the  wai 
was  solely  instigated  by  Satan,  and  that  he  was  in 
control  of  the  conflicting  powers.  And  if  that  were 
true  of  Europe,  why  would  it  not  be  true  of  Asia 
and  Africa  and  the  Americas,  the  Islands  of  the  Seas 
and  all  the  world  ?  Satan  would  then  have  an  access  to 
the  world,  and  a  power  of  evil  which,  if  true,  would 
place  the  world  under  the  chaotic  government  of  two 
contending  powers  and  would  destroy  the  sovereign 
providence  of  the  one  Lord,  and  the  first  foundation 
of  religious  faith.  But  the  living  faith  in  the 
Christian  heart  denies  the  absurd  theory  of  Satanic 
control.  The  idea  is  a  monstrous  perversion  of  reason, 
and  is  revolting  to  the  enlightened  Christian  con- 
science. The  scriptures  teach  that  God  has  all  power, 
in  heaven  and  in  earth.  The  sovereignty  of  the  One 
and  Only  Supreme  Being  is  a  doctrine  fundamental 
to  the  Bible,  but  is  an  accepted  fact,  historically,  by 
all  civilized  nations,  and  in  every  age.  It  is  the  ac- 
credited belief  of  civilized  men  todaj^  And  it  is  freely 
acknowledged  that  God  had  the  power  to  prevent  the 
war  by  the  exercise  even  of  his  ordinary  providential 
direction.  In  the  human  sense,  when  a  ruler,  or  an 
individual,  or  a  nation  has  the  power  to  prevent  a  mis- 
fortune or  calamity  that  would  work  evil  to  other 
persons  or  nations  and  fail  to  do  so,  he  must  share 
some  responsibility  for  the  occurrence.  But  God  is 
not  subject  to  human  standards,  ethically,  and  cannot 
be  held  responsible  like  human  beings  or  angels,  be- 

[102] 


PRE-EMINENCE    OF    CHRIST 

cause  He  is  the  Maker  of  all  worlds,  and  the  benign 
Giver  of  all  life.  God  cannot  do  wrong,  nor  be  guilty 
of  any  act  of  moral  culpability  because  He  cannot  lie, 
hence.  He  is  not  responsible  for  the  war  though  He 
permitted  it  to  happen,  for  the  reason  that  He  must 
use  men-human  instrumentality  —  for  righting  the 
wrongs,  eliminating  social  antagonisms  and  enslav- 
ing legal  enactments,  that  men  had  encouraged  and 
supported  for  selfish  purposes.  In  other  words,  tht 
nations  at  war  voluntarily  took  the  whiplash  of  war 
and  God  is  permitting  them  to  administer  their  own 
deserved  castigation  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  them 
to  re-adjust  their  relations  in  equity  to  each  other, 
and  bring  about  necessary  internal  reforms  and  a  bet- 
ter understanding  in  international  affairs.  God  is 
utilizing  the  belligerent  nations  and  all  individuals 
and  incorporated  interests,  national  and  private,  for 
the  highest  good  of  the  race,  and  all  the  redeemed. 
Warlike  nations  have  been  used  by  the  Lord  for  the 
great  ends  of  His  redemptive  government.  In  the 
allied  armies  of  Egypt  and  Assyria  —  the  enemies  ot 
Ahaz  —  Isaiah  saw  the  razor  hired  of  God  to  shave 
off  the  manly  beard  of  the  nation's  dignity,  and  re- 
duce it  to  contempt  and  derision.  Later  He  saw  in 
King  Sargon  the  rod  of  God's  anger  and  a  staff  of 
His  indignation.  A  century  afterward  Jeremiah 
called  Nebuchadnezzar  God 's  battle-ax  and  weapon  of 
war.  In  reply  to  Habakkuk's  remonstrance  God 
taught  him  the  same  truth;  "I  am  raising  up  the 
[103] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

Chaldeans,  that  bitter  and  hasty  nation!"  It  is 
equally  true  that  God  raised  up  Cyrus  the  Mede,  to 
overthrow  Babylon,  and  to  set  Israel  free,  at  the 
close  of  the  seventy  years  captivity.  In  other  ages, 
God  permitted  war  for  the  punishment  of  sin,  and 
the  preservation  of  His  people,  and  the  advancement 
of  His  kingdom.  When  God  had  no  further  use  for 
Chaldea,  His  battle-ax.  He  destroyed  it,  but  the  Jew 
remains  until  this  day.  May  not  this  war  be  an  arbit- 
rary judgment,  sent  by  the  Lord  for  the  punishment  of 
personal  sins  and  national  wrongs?  If  there  is  one 
truth  which  is  written  more  plainly  in  the  Bible,  in 
history,  and  in  the  moral  sense  of  the  best  men,  it  is 
that  God's  purpose  on  earth  is  to  produce  in  men 
moral  and  religious  character.     Otherwise 

''The  pillar 'd  firmament  itself  were  rottenness, 
And  earth's  base  built  on  stubble." 

God  will  stop  the  war  when  He  has  avenged  His  op- 
pressed people,  and  repaired  the  wrongs  of  the  world. 
In  a  fallen  world  like  this,  God  cannot  create  perfect 
moral  characters  in  men  by  simply  teaching  them  to 
do  right,  but  by  inspiring  them  to  right  the  wrong. 
And  when  a  nation  waxes  great  and  strong  and 
wrong  gets  thoroly  established  and  unjust  measures 
with  blighting,  oppressive  influence  and  evil  are  en- 
throned and  patronized  by  the  great;  righteousness 
ignored,  and  God  dishonored,  then  wrong  is  so  deeply 
entrenched  in  civic  affairs,  as  to  become  the  rule, 
[104] 


PRE-EMINENCE    OF    CHRIST 

rather  than  the  exception,  and  correction  of  it  and 
helpful  reform  cannot  come  except  thru  suffering.  It 
is  just  as  true  of  nations  as  it  is  individuals,  that, 
"whatsoever  they  sow,  they  must  reap !"  If  a  nation 
"sows  to  the  flesh,  it  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corrup- 
tion," and  a  corrupt  life  will  naturally  be  forced  to 
suffer  for  its  evil  deeds. 

History  abounds  with  many  striking  illustrations 
of  this  solemn  truth;  for  instance,  call  to  mind  the 
judgment  of  Ahab  and  the  bestowment  of  God's  right- 
eous wrath  upon  his  household  and  Israel,  over  whom 
he  reigned ;  the  visitation  of  King  David's  immortality 
and  murderous  intrigues  upon  his  own  head,  in  the 
form  of  an  arbitrary  penalty,  enforced  upon  a  much- 
loved  child,  that  God  took  from  its  cradle  and  its  un- 
faithful mother 's  arms ;  the  violent  death  of  the  licent- 
ious and  cruel  Jezebel;  the  swift  vengeance  of  God 
upon  Core  and  Dathan ;  the  dark  ending  of  Eli's  life 
and  the  death  of  his  corrupt  sons;  the  overthrow  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  Sodom  and  Gomorrah;  the  destruc- 
tion and  complete  ruin  of  Babylon,  Nineveh,  Jeru- 
salem and  Egypt.  But  "what  need  I  more  say" 
touching  this  point?  Who  has  not  considered  the 
doom  of  a  brutal  and  inhuman  Caligula  —  the  death 
of  a  tyrannical  Caesar,  and  the  furious  wrath  of  God 
as  it  was  meted  without  measure  or  mercy,  to  an 
eloquent,  tho  bestial  and  incestuous  Herod?  Or  who 
has  not  been  over-awed  by  the  stupendous  and  un- 
limited power  and  inescapable  wrath  of  God,  that  was 
[105] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

so  unmistakably  demonstrated  in  the  destruction  of  a 
world  during  the  awful  ruin  of  Noah's  flood?  But 
why  discuss  this  point  further  when  it  is  so  clearly 
established  by  all  history  —  religious  and  profane  — 
that  the  history  of  our  world  —  in  every  age  and 
every  great  epochal  period,  resulting  in  internal 
changes  or  denationalization  for  the  different  nations 
and  kingdoms  of  the  past,  exhibits  many  evidences  of 
God's  divine  dealings  with  them  because  of  their 
wickedness,  that  came  in  guise  of  merciful  reproof  and 
warning,  providential  antagonisms  and  corrective 
judgments.  Ballon  says,  "the  same  Hand  that  sent 
the  storm,  holds  the  helm. ' ' 

''God's  plans,  like  lilies  pure  and  white,  unfold: 

We  must  not  tear  the  close-shut  leaves  apart; 

Time  will  reveal  the  calyxes  of  gold. ' ' 

Providence  is  mysterious  and  its  decrees  inscrut- 
able, but  divine  interposition,  tho  always  miraculous, 
is  not  to  be  uniformly  identified  as  a  distinct  miracle, 
sovereignly  and  independently  wrought  by  Jehovah. 
But  in  the  minds  of  many  people,  providence  is 
thought  to  be  only  and  exclusively  a  supernatural 
work.  And  this  mistaken  idea  of  God 's  over-sight  and 
wise  superintendence  of  the  world,  has  caused  multi- 
tudes of  honest,  tho  misguided  thinkers,  to  become 
sceptical  and  reject  the  providence  of  God,  refusing 
to  believe  that  He  has  any  control  of  the  world  or  the 
material  universe,  or  that  He  takes  any  interest  in  the 
[106] 


PRE-EMINENCE    OF    CHRIST 

affairs  of  men.  The  world  to  them  is  a  machine  —  au 
automaton  —  that,  like  an  intricate  piece  of  machin- 
ery, is  set  in  motion  by  the  Maker  and  will  continue 
to  revolve  in  its  appointed  orbits;  until,  cankered 
with  age  and  worn  out  with  continuous  revolution, 
it  will  suddenly  collapse  and  pass  out  of  space  into 
oblivion.  The  idea  is  blasphemous.  It  has  no  support 
in  reason  or  revelation.  ''A  man's  heart  deviseth  his 
way,  but  the  Lord  directeth  his  steps." 

God  stands  in  a  special  relation  to  man,  and  the 
course  of  divine  providence  in  the  government  of  the 
world  shows  that  His  operation  has  a  twofold  aspect, 
which  may  be  described  as  general  and  special  inter- 
position. Not  only  is  God  represented  as  being  the 
author  of  the  universe  and  of  those  regular  laws  by 
which  the  periodical  occurrence  of  its  natural  pheno- 
mena is  determined ;  but  He  is  also  exhibited  as  a  dir- 
ect Cause  of  events,  by  which  their  temporal  or  spirit- 
ual welfare  is  produced.  The  notion  that  a  miracle 
must  be  wrought  every  time  there  is  an  act  of  special 
care  or  love  in  behalf  of  an  individual,  or  a  commun- 
ity, or  a  nation,  is  erroneous  and  confusing.  It  is 
true  that  God  has  employed  both  methods  of  provi- 
dential care,  the  extraordinary  miracle  work  and  the 
ordinary  and  continuous  loving  care,  and  that  He  has 
produced  a  gradual  unfolding  of  His  purposes  in  the 
direction  of  individuals  and  nations  in  the  past.  And 
were  it  to  be  necessary,  God  can  perform  the  miracles 
in  a  dynamic  and  supernatural  way,  to  accomplish 
[107] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

His  purpose  in  the  control  of  the  world.  But  the 
most  frequent  method  of  control  is  the  ordinary  and 
gradual  process  that  is  brought  about  thru  His  mys- 
terious influence,  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  men, 
and  in  the  use  that  he  makes  of  human  instrumental- 
ity in  co-operation  with  His  people  and  mankind  in 
general.  In  proof  of  the  last  point  I  refer  to  God's 
dealings  with  Joseph  and  Mordecai.  The  history  of 
Joseph  very  clearly  exemplifies  the  fact  of  the  gradual 
process  of  divine  guidance  and  God's  dealings  with 
him  had  a  special  bearing  upon  all  the  tribes  of 
Israel.  A  careful  study  of  Joseph 's  life  will  convince 
any  one,  that  if  he  had  not  lived  and  died,  or  if  his 
life  had  been  different,  the  destiny  of  Israel  would 
have  been  different,  and  the  fate  of  many  principali- 
ties and  kingdoms  and  great  empires  would  have  been 
different  to  an  extent  that  we  have  no  means  of  cal- 
culating. If  ever  a  human  life  was  under  the  special 
care  of  Jehovah,  Joseph 's  was ;  and  God  used  him  not 
for  His  own  sake,  but  as  an  instrument  thru  whom  to 
reveal  His  method  of  dealing  in  the  continuous  and 
ordinary  way,  with  all  nations  and  future  ages. 
Therefore  I  conclude  that  the  miracle  of  providence 
shown  in  the  life  of  Joseph  and  among  other  peoples 
during  his  times,  did  not  supplant  nor  in  any  way 
supersede  or  turn  aside  the  ordinary  methods  of 
providence.  You  notice  that  results  were  brought 
about  by  a  combination  of  circumstances  and  in- 
fluences, in  all  of  which  there  is  an  exercise  of  the  hum- 
[108] 


PRE-EMINENCE    OF    CHRIST 

an  will,  and  the  over-ruling  providence  of  God.  The 
most  remarkable  changes  were  superinduced  by 
dreams  in  which  we  have  no  reason  to  believe  that 
there  was  an  overstepping  of  natural  law. 

God  penetrates  and  pervades  the  universe  with 
His  nature  and  with  His  disposition.  Paul  says: 
''that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith,  thai 
ye  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to 
comprehend  with  all  saints  what  is  the  breadth  and 
length  and  depth  and  height,  and  to  know  the  love 
of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge,  that  ye  might  be 
filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God  1 ' '  This  is  the  true 
conception  of  God.  And  it  finds  illustration  in  the 
beautiful  story  of  Esther.  The  book  that  bears  hev 
name  tells  us  how  the  Jewish  race  was  preserved 
from  destruction;  how  Haman  was  brought  to  jus- 
tice, and  how  the  whole  empire  was  made  acquainted 
with  the  name  of  Jehovah ;  and  yet  there  was  no  mir- 
acle, tho  there  were  many  strange  coincidences,  won- 
derful influences  and  phenomenal  spiritual  impres- 
sions. But  the  main  point  on  which  the  whole  his- 
tory turns,  is  the  King's  sleeplessness,  and  an  effort 
to  soothe  Him  into  slumber  by  reading  the  book  of 
Chronicles  of  the  kingdom,  by  which  means  Morde- 
cai  's  forgotten  services  were  brought  to  remembrance. 
This  restlessness  of  the  King  was  evidently  provi- 
dential, but  it  could  be  brought  about  without  a  mir- 
acle. The  subtle  influences  that  operate  normally  on 
the  human  mind,  are  by  no  means  clearly  understood. 
[109] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

But  physiological  and  psycological  investigations  have 
been  carried  far  enough  to  prove  that  there  are  condi- 
tions under  which  mind  may  impress  mind  silently, 
yet  powerfully,  by  other  than  the  ordinary  methods, 
yet  doubtless  thru  the  operation  of  laws  that  are  uni- 
form in  their  working.  Great  results  have  been 
brought  to  pass  through  impressions,  warnings,  en- 
couragements, imparted  in  silence,  by  an  invisible 
power  we  may  never  know,  until  the  mists  of  un- 
certainty that  veil  the  spirits  of  men  are  cleared 
away  in  the  revelations  of  eternal  judgment.  There- 
fore I  believe  that  this  war  is  providential,  and  that 
God  is  over-ruling  its  evil  tendencies  for  His  own  glory 
and  the  good  of  the  entire  world ;  hence  I  do  not  sym- 
pathize with  a  pessimistic  cry  that  is  coming  up,  from 
so  many  quarters  of  the  earth,  viz;  ''Christianity  has 
failed  and  Satan  and  evil  are  dominating  the  world." 
Eighteousness  and  wrong  are  engaged  in  a  death 
struggle,  and  the  former  is  in  the  minority ;  but  thru 
the  preservation  of  Jesus  Christ  it  will  ultimately 
prevail  and  become  the  rule  of  all  the  nations,  and 
love  dynamically  established  in  human  hearts  will  fur- 
nish the  immutable  motive  of  human  conduct. 

'^  Behind  the  dim  unknown 
Standeth  God  within  the  shadow 
Keeping  watch  above  His  own. ' ' 


[110] 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  Second  Coming  of  Jesus  Christ 

''The  Lord  shall  come!  the  earth  shall  quake; 
The  mountains  to  their  centre  shake; 
And,  withering  from  the  vault  of  night, 
The  stars  shall  pale  their  feeble  light." 

"When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  His  glory, 
and  all  the  holy  angels  with  Him,  then  shall  He  sit 
upon  the  throne  of  His  glory :  and  before  Him  shall  be 
gathered  all  nations:  and  he  shall  separate  them  one 
from  another  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the 
goats:  and  He  shall  set  the  sheep  on  His  right  hand 
but  the  goats  on  the  left.  Then  shall  the  King  say 
unto  them  on  His  right  hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world:  for  I  was  anhungered, 
and  ye  gave  me  meat:  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me 
drink :  I  was  a  stranger  and  ye  took  me  in :  naked  and 
ye  clothed  me:  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me:  I  was 
in  prison  and  ye  came  unto  me."  Math.  25 :31-36.  The 
hope  of  the  second  coming  of  Jesus  is  the  strongest, 
most  important,  and  most  largely  effective  in  mould- 
ing, refining  and  developing  a  strong,  unwavering 
Christian  faith  and  shaping  it  into  the  proper  scrip- 
tural group,  than  any  other  doctrine  taught  in  the  New 
Testament  scriptures.  It  is  the  inspiration  of  a  living, 
[111] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

heroic  faith.  It  has  been  a  comfort  and  solace  to  the 
old  veteran  of  the  Cross,  an  incentive  to  deeds  of  valor 
and  the  girding  of  strength  to  the  oppressed  and  per- 
secuted saint,  the  crown  of  rejoicing  to  the  devoted 
martyr  and  the  hope  of  the  Church  in  all  the  ages  of 
the  world's  history.  It  is  the  supreme  question  of 
the  present  age  and  like  Banquo's  ghost,  "it  will  not 
down."  But  world  conditions  are  so  cataclysmic, 
dangerous,  unsatisfactory  and  restless,  that  men  are 
forced,  even  against  their  mental  decree  or  willing 
choice  in  the  matter,  to  seriously  consider  it.  Men  of 
all  professions,  trades,  stations  in  life  and  possessing 
intelligence  in  different  degrees  of  development,  and 
multitudes  who  never  before  the  present  time  gave 
Jesus  Christ  any  serious  consideration,  are  being  in- 
duced by  the  mysterious  disturbances  that  obtain  in 
different  sections  of  our  world,  to  think  of  Jesus  and 
try  to  interpret  His  teachings  about  eschatological 
questions  in  the  light  of  social,  politcal  and  religious 
conditions  of  the  present  age.  Gentile  world-powers 
are  ripe  for  the  harvest  of  judgment.  Protestantism 
is  waning  and  rapidly  approaching  the  termination  of 
its  usefulness  and  ritualism;  the  reviving  spirit  of 
phariseeism  is  waxing  in  prominence  and  popularity 
with  the  multitudes,  who  are  eagerly  seeking  a  worldly 
religious  regime,  in  an  effort  to  soothe  their  troubled 
consciences  and  avoid  the  necessity  of  giving  up  their 
idols  of  vanity,  pride  and  foolish  self-esteem.  They 
are  therefore  turning  from  the  pure  word  of  God. 
[112] 


THE    SECOND    COMING   OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

They  are  deceived  in  the  belief  that  it  is  possible  for 
men  to  have  soul  peace  in  times  like  the  present  with- 
out a  personal,  experimental  knowledge  of  God. 

They  are  afflicted  with  "itching  ears"  and  con- 
sequently cannot  endure  the  soul-ful  and  soul-satisfy- 
ing doctrine.  They  want  a  mental  narcotic  to  make 
them  forget  their  responsibilities,  and  to  enable  them 
to  spend  their  time  in  the  profitless  indulgence  of  day- 
dreams. The  nations  of  the  earth  are  like  a  troubled 
sea  which  cannot  rest,  and  ''whose  waters  cast  up 
mire  and  dirt."  There  is  no  peace  to  the  wickedly 
self-seeking  church  members,  and  tho  they  are  dis- 
tressed in  heart,  greatly  confused  in  mind,  they  will 
not  accept  peace  upon  Jesus'  terms  and  penitently 
surrender  to  Him.  This  is  the  Sardis  period  of 
Christianity,  indicating  the  unfulfilled  works  of  the 
protestant  reformation  in  its  closing  hours.  "And 
unto  the  angel  of  the  Church  in  Sardis  write ;  These 
things  sayeth  He  that  hath  the  seven  spirits  of  God, 
and  the  seven  stars ;  I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  hast 
a  name,  that  thou  livest,  and  art  dead."  Rev.  3:1. 
Evidences  of  spiritual  decline  abound  on  every  hand. 
Family  altars  are  overgrown  with  the  poisoned  ivy  oi 
careless  neglect,  and  the  children  of  Christian  parents 
are  being  swept  by  the  tides  of  spiritual  disintegra- 
tion far  out  and  away  from  moorings  of  safety,  on 
the  bosom  of  a  storm-tossed  ocean  of  wrath  and  eternal 
disaster.  Genuine  piety  is  almost  a  lost  Christian  art 
among  many  leading  church  officials,  and  even  among 
[113] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

many  ministers  of  the  gospel.  Many  churches  art 
little  more  than  mere  entertainment  bureaus  where 
the  ''giddy  and  the  gay"  can  supply  their  vain  "love 
of  pleasure"  and  feast  for  awhile  on  the  chaff  of  a 
semi-religious,  nauseating  ecclesiastical  show  and 
have  their  idiotic  ears  tickled  by  some  spineless 
preacher  who  is  too  cowardly  to  preach  the  truth 
that  will  save  men  and  make  them  "new  creatures  in 
Christ  Jesus, ' '  and  who  does  not  hesitate  to  substitutt 
the  word  of  God  with  an  elocutionary  recital,  or  a 
pious  vaudeville  show  in  order  as  he  thinks  (I  put 
special  emphasis  on  the  qualifying  phrase)  to  be  pop- 
ular with  the  "multitude  whose  feet  are  swift  to  do 
evil"  and  to  draw  his  salary  and  be  advertised  for 
his  "liberal  views,"  "broadness,"  "genuine  o|pti- 
mism"  and  congeniality  and  "easy,  graceful  fellow- 
ship with  worldly  things."  Empty  profession  is 
largely  supplanting  confession  in  our  religious  life. 
Regeneration  is  giving  away  before  the  formal  service 
of  ritualism,  that  is  fostered  and  promoted  by  worldly- 
minded  churches.  Jesus  Christ  is  being  driven  into  a 
corner  by  the  sensualism  of  the  day  and  the  Holy 
spirit;  grieved  with  the  wickedness  and  flagrant  im- 
morality of  the  world.  He  is  withdrawing  His  influence 
from  mankind  in  general,  as  He  did  in  the  days  of 
Noah  and  Lot,  and  is  limiting  His  blessing  to  the 
faithful  ones  here  and  there  over  the  world ;  and  tho 
we  can  see  the  alarming  trend  of  affairs,  we  are  help- 
less to  remedy  the  evil,  but  like  Noah,  warn  the 
[114] 


THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 

people  of  the  awful  holocaust  of  vengeance  that  is 
coming  upon  us. 

True  worship  is  being  eliminated  thru  the  intro- 
duction of  phlegmatic  and  Athenian  culture  religion, 
and  the  world  is  becoming  a  moral  catafalgue,  on 
which  is  lying  the  dead  body  of  protestantism. 

"How  long,  dear  Saviour,  oh,  how  long 
Shall  that  bright  hour  delay? 
Roll  swiftly  round,  ye  wheels  of  time, 
And  bring  the  appointed  day." 

' '  When  shall  these  things  be  ?  And  what  shall  be  the 
sign  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the  world?" 
Math.  24 :3.  Jesus  answers  the  above  three-fold  ques- 
tion in  the  twenty-fourth  chapter  of  Matthew  and  in 
connection  with  Luke  21 :20-24.  This  brings  us  to 
the  consideration  of  the  fact  that  the  chapter  in 
Matthew's  gospel  contains 

Two  Sets  of  Prophecies  :: — 

one  set  or  group  referring  to  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem and  the  other  set  to  the  Parousia  or  second 
coming  of  Jesus.  The  prophecies  related  by  Jesus 
and  recorded  by  Matthew  are  very  difficult  and  hard 
to  understand.  The  casual  reader  will  not  proceed 
far  in  the  investigation  of  the  divine  forecasts,  until 
the  combined  and  inter-dependent  statements  will 
produce  a  bewildered  state  of  mind  that  in  all  prob- 
ability will  serve  to  discourage  any  further  study  of 
the  questions  and  issues  involved.  But  the  statements 
[115] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

of  Jesus  were  intended  to  be  understood  and  reflect 
light  upon  the  future  destiny  of  the  world  and  the 
city  of  Jerusalem.  He  did  not  reveal  an  intangible; 
mystery,  or  a  concealed  truth,  that  would  forever  re- 
main inaccessible  to  men  and  that  would  lure,  but  not 
satisfy,  investigation,  as  a  mirage,  shimmering  in  the 
distance,  attracts  the  wayfarer  and  leads  him  further 
on  into  an  arid  desert  to  perish  of  thirst.  The  order 
as  set  forth  by  Jesus  reveals  the  first  and  most  im- 
portant evidence  of  His  return  to  the  world  at  the 
close  of  the  Gentile  Dispensation,  viz;  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Temple  and  the  overthrow  of  Jerusalem. 
The  Apostles  had  shown  the  buildings  of  the  great 
structure  and  He  told  them  that  there  shall  not  be 
left  here  one  stone  upon  another  that  shall  not  be 
thrown  down.  Then  they  asked  the  question  above 
referred  to,  desiring  to  know  when  He  would  return 
to  the  world.  'T^he  question  in  its  construction  shows, 
that  the  Apostles  were  under  the  supernatural  inspira- 
tion of  the  Spirit,  when  the  query  was  propounded  to 
the  Master,  because  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
these  same  men,  on  another  occasion,  revealed  the 
fact  that  they  had  unconsciously  lapsed  from  the 
high  ground  of  prophetic  inspiration  that  they  oc- 
cupied at  the  time  they  sat  with  Jesus  on  the  Mount 
of  Olives  and  exhibited  so  much  insight  into  the  sec- 
ret mysteries  of  the  future,  questioning  Him  so  wise- 
ly about  it,  and  then  returning  to  the  provincial  theory 
of  the  Messianic  reign,  because  they  expected  Jesus 
[116] 


THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 

to  assume  the  throne  of  David  and  taking  the  leader- 
ship of  the  Jews,  draw  the  sword  in  behalf  of  Israel's 
freedom  and  restoration.  They  were,  therefore  dis- 
appointed when  He  died  on  Calvary,  and  many  of 
them  gave  up  in  hopeless  despair  and  thought  that 
all  was  lost.  They  evidently  identified  the  throne  of 
promised  future  dominion,  with  present  affairs  and  ex- 
pected to  see  the  accomplishment  of  that  promise  dur- 
ing the  natural  and  that  immediate  age.  But  Jesus 
placed  the  messianic  age  far  beyond  the  time  of  Jeru- 
salem's destruction,  altho  He  did  correlate  that  great 
event  with  it,  in  the  sense  that  the  overthrow  of  the 
city  of  David  and  the  demolition  of  the  Temple  were 
premonitions  of  that  glorious  event.  He  makes  this 
matter  very  clear  in  what  He  said  to  the  Apostles 
and  which  is  recorded  by  Luke  in  his  twenty-first 
chapter,  viz;  ''And  when  ye  shall  see  Jerusalem  com- 
passed with  armies,  then  know  the  desolation  thereot 
is  nigh.  Then  let  them  which  are  in  Judea  flee  to  the 
mountains;  and  let  them  which  are  in  the  midst  of  it 
depart  out ;  and  let  not  them  that  are  in  the  countries 
enter  thereinto.  For  these  be  the  days  of  vengeance, 
that  all  things  which  are  written  may  be  fulfilled. 
But  woe  unto  them  that  are  with  child,  and  to  them 
that  give  suck  in  those  days!  for  there  shall  be  great 
distress  in  the  land  and  wrath  upon  this  people.  Ana 
they  shall  fall  by  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  shall  be 
led  away  captive  into  all  nations :  and  Jerusalem  shall 
be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the  times  of 
[117] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled."  The  above  prophecy  was 
literally  fulfilled  when  the  Eoman  army  under  Titus 
destroyed  Jerusalem  about  the  year  of  our  Lord  70. 
However,  this  terrible  occurence  did  not  happen  for 
nearly  half-a-century  after  it  was  predicted,  and 
every  statement  made  by  the  Saviour  can  be  verified 
by  the  records  of  profane  history.  And  the  ''Holy 
City"  is  under  Gentile  dominion  today.  The  pale 
crescent  of  Mahomet  waves  in  triumph  over  the  sacred 
tombs  of  Judean  kings.  All  the  combined  powers  of 
earth  and  hell  cannot  wrest  the  city  from  the  dominion 
of  a  Gentile  power  ''until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles 
be  fulfilled."  I  pity  and  love  and  honor  the  Jews, 
but  I  could  not  encourage  any  movement  among  them 
looking  to  their  re-establishment  in  their  beloved  city. 
It  is  still  under  the  arbitrary  judgment  of  God  and 
Israel  must  continue  to  be  the  scattered  nation  —  a 
peculiar,  persecuted,  down-trodden,  tho  miraculously 
preserved  —  people,  wanderers  in  every  land,  in  every 
age  to  be  hated  and  despised,  yet  leaving  the  impress 
of  a  most  wonderful  personality  upon  all  those  peoples 
among  whom  they  chance  to  abide,  until  the  moment 
for  their  emancipation,  that  is  concealed  in  God's 
mind,  and  not  known  to  the  angels,  and  that  Jesus  as 
the  "Son  of  man"  refused  to  tell. 

Then  and  not  before,  will  Israel  be  re-gathered 
from  among  the  peoples  where  they  have  been  driven 
by  an  angry  God,  and  Jerusalem  shall  be  "safely  in- 
habited by  them,"  during  the  age  of  peace  and  uni- 
[118] 


THE    SECOND    COMING    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

versal  righteousness,  that  will  be  enjoyed  by  all  per- 
sons who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  accept  Christ  as  their 
personal  Saviour  in  this  age  or  during  the  Gentile 
dispensation  —  both  Jew  and  Gentile.  But  after  its 
close,  no  class  of  people  will  have  access  to  Jesus  or 
enjoy  gospel  privileges,  except  the  Jewish  remnant, 
Isaiah's  'Henth"  or  ''teil  tree,"  who  will  return  to 
Jerusalem  in  an  unconverted  state  of  soul,  but  who 
will,  just  prior  to  the  destruction  of  Anti-Christ  and 
the  complete  overthrow  of  all  world  power,  experience 
the  performance  of  the  miracle  of  grace  in  the  regen- 
eration of  their  souls,  wrought  by  the  supernatural 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  they  will  gladly  accept 
Jesus  as  their  Saviour  and  Prince,  and  "crown  Him 
Lord  of  all."  The  restoration  of  the  Jews  and  the 
second  advent  of  Jesus  are  to  occur  almost  simultan- 
eously and  at  the  close  of  the  ''Gentile  Dispensa- 
tion;" but  He  kindly,  tho  positively,  refused  to  tell 
the  time  when  that  would  happen.  He  said  that  it 
was  a  secret  that  no  one  knew  and  that  no  class  of 
created  beings  would  be  permitted  to  know,  until  it 
actually  occurred. 

As  the  divine  ''Son  of  God,"  He  possessed  the 
knowledge  of  the  end  of  all  things  and  of  the  end  of 
the  world.  But  He  came  to  do  the  Will  of  His  Father 
and  reveal  Him  to  the  world,  and  it  was  not  consistent 
with  the  divine  purpose  of  His  Father  to  make  any 
revelation  regarding  the  day  and  hour  when  He 
would  send  Jesus  to  "judge  the  world  in  righteous- 

[  119  ] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

ness."  Jesus  being  a  personal  divinity  and  equal  to 
His  Father,  must  preserve  the  honor,  integrity  and 
divine  right  of  His  Father  in  the  revelation  of  truth, 
the  same  as  in  every  other  sphere  of  life  involving  the 
salvation  of  men,  and  the  ultimate  destiny  of  all 
things  according  to  the  Will  of  His  Father.  Hence, 
He  could  not  make  the  secret  known  without  doing 
violence  to  Deity,  and  if  He  had  assumed  any  author- 
ity that  was  not  vested  in  Him  by  Jehovah,  He  would 
have  forfeited  the  substitutional  and  vicarious  repres- 
entation of  the  Holy  spirit,  who  was  equal  to  the 
Father  and  the  Son.  In  that  event  the  Church  would 
be  without  a  Shekinah  of  power,  and  the  world  would 
not  have  His  radiant  light,  dispelling  its  darkness, 
and  leading  many  of  its  benighted  subjects  to  the 
"Lamb  of  God  that  takes  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 
If  Jesus  would  not  tell  His  holy  angels,  and  kept  the 
secret  from  His  beloved  Apostles,  do  you  think  it  is 
reasonable  that  He  has  revealed  the  secret  to  some 
modern  apostle  of  a  strange  cult?  Do  you  not  think 
that  it  is  unmitigated  presumption,  and  blasphemous, 
for  any  person  to  undertake  to  tell  the  day  or  the 
month  or  year  in  which  Jesus  will  return  ? 

Jesus  warned  us  against  false  teachers  and  said, 
''take  heed  that  no  man  deceive  you."  As  there  were 
treacherous,  lying  prophets  in  Israel  —  wolves  in 
sheep 's  clothing,  —  deceivers  and  deceived,  heralds  of 
self-made  oracles,  who  preached  smooth  things  to  com- 
fort those  who  should  have  covered  their  souls  with 
[120] 


THE    SECOND    COMING   OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

sackcloth  of  mourning,  and  thus  betrayed  them  into 
a  deeper  damnation ;  men  who  for  the  sake  of  reward 
justified  the  ungodly,  and  thru  cunning  deception 
imposed  godless  teachings  upon  the  unsuspecting  and 
confiding  heirs  of  righteousness,  thereby  leading  them 
into  the  meshes  of  Satan's  snare,  forcing  them  to  com- 
promise with  evil  and  lose  credit  for  righteousness 
and  honorable  standing  with  God,  so  Jesus  lovingly 
and  in  generous  mercy  has  shown  us  Yevy  clearly,  and 
far  in  advance  of  their  coming,  that  the  false  teacher 
would  prey  upon  the  Church  as  false  prophets  did 
upon  Israel.  Hear  Him :  ' '  For  many  shall  come  in  my 
name,  saying,  I  am  Christ ;  and  shall  deceive  many. ' '  I 
believe  that  the  Devil  has  more  preachers  in  the  pulpit 
today  than  Jesus,  but  is  that  sad  misfortune  a  suffi- 
cient reason  to  justify  us  in  the  opinion  that  Christ  has 
failed,  or  that  He  is  destined  ultimately  to  fail  in  the 
accomplishment  of  His  mission  in  the  world?  The 
very  first  Church  that  was  ever  organized,  came  into 
being  under  the  Master's  supervision.  He  personally 
directing  in  its  formation,  constitution  and  establish- 
ment, and  one  of  its  charter  members,  Judas  Iscariot, 
was  a  thief  and  a  devil.  In  the  proper  time  Judas  was 
eliminated  and  the  Church  was  purged  from  the  taint 
of  his  contaminating  presence,  and  he  ''took  his  own 
place"  and  one  that  his  conduct  richly  merited  and 
from  which  miserable  fate  he  cannot  hope  to  be  re- 
stored to  the  opportunities  of  gospel  blessings  —  the 
very  gospel  that  he  preached,  abused  and  distrusted 
[121] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

during  the  time  of  his  association  with  the  Saviour 
and  the  beginning  of  the  New  Testament  Church. 
Jesus  will  bring  this  world  to  its  knees,  either  in  peni- 
tence, or  eternal  judgment,  and  every  tongue  shall 
swear  before  God,  in  acknowledgment  of  His  divinity, 
spotless  integrity,  unimpeachable  veracity,  unerring 
prophetic  truth  and  unswerving  justice.  Nor  will  the 
Church  ultimately  fail  to  accomplish  the  eternal  pur- 
pose 'Svhereunto  it  was  sent."  Jesus  said  to  Peter: 
' ' Thou  art  clean  but  not  all"  —  meaning  Judas  —  and 
' 'if  I  wash  thee  not  thou  hast  no  part  with  me, ' '  which 
conveys  the  idea  that  Jesus  must  wash  and  keep  clean 
from  pollution  and  moral  defilements  all  Churches,  in 
every  age  and  to  the  close  of  the  Gentile  Dispensation. 
He  is  preserving  His  Body.  He  is  watching  over  it 
with  sleepless  vigil.  He  died  for  it,  and  rose  again 
that  it  might  be  saved  for  His  own  special  use.  It  is  a 
vessel  fitted  and  prepared  in  all  of  its  deportment  and 
delineations  for  the  Master's  glory  and  honor.  Were 
the  Church  to  be  destroj^ed  or  taken  away  from  Him, 
heaven  would  be  turned  into  pandemonium,  discordant 
notes  would  again  trill  the  strings  of  the  harp  of  life  in 
angel  hands,  the  scepter  of  dominion  and  universal 
sway  would  fall  from  the  hand  of  heaven's  King,  and 
eternity  would  witness  a  tragedy  a  thousand  times 
worse  than  that  of  Eden,  and  one  that  would  involve 
all  created  beings,  in  earth  and  heaven  and  hell,  viz; 
the  defeat  of  the  Second  Adam  and  the  destruction 
of  His  eternal  Kingdom.     Nature  could  not  survive 

[122] 


THE    SECOND    COMING    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

the  shock  and  endure  the  awful  calamity,  but  the 
universe  of  God  would  immediately  collapse,  and  the 
chaos  of  pre-historic  ages,  with  its  scenes  of  melting 
planets,  erratic  wandering  stars,  flaming  meteors, 
flashing  against  the  lurid  glare  of  unchained  thunder 
bolts,  roaring  in  terrible  explosions  above  the  bellow- 
ing of  the  storm  of  destruction  that  held  the  world  in 
its  grip,  would  claim  the  rights  of  dominion,  reverse 
the  order  of  nature,  displace  the  law  of  gravity  and 
bring  the  glorious  creation  under  the  judgment  of 
eternal  oblivion.  But,  such  a  calamity  will  never  — 
cannot  occur  —  in  the  history  of  our  world.  Jesus 
has  triumphed  over  death  and  hell  and  the  grave.  He 
is  the  ''death  of  death  and  hell's  destruction,"  and  He 
holds  dominion  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  the  re- 
motest bounds  of  eternity.  He  is  "  God  of  very  God ' ' 
and  holds  the  scepter  of  power  and  reigns  in  righteous- 
ness and  unsullied  glory  ' '  from  everlasting  to  everlast- 
ing." The  Church  of  Christ,  therefore,  is  secure  and 
is  destined  to  accomplish  her  mission,  in  spite  of  the 
evil  work  of  hypocrites,  false  teachers  and  faithless 
Church  members.  Do  not  be  uneasy  about  the  future 
prospect  of  the  Church,  rather  burden  your  soul  with 
serious  thoughts  of  God  and  your  duty  to  Him,  that 
should  be  faithfully  discharged  in  view  of  the  final 
Judgment  and  in  obedient  Church  life.  The  Church 
is  founded  on  a  rock,  and  tho  the  earth  may  shake  and 
tremble,  the  Church  will  stand;  the  ancient  glory  of 
kingdoms  departs,  nations  rise  and  fall  with  the  var- 
[123] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

iant  tides  of  political  change  as  the  ebb  and  flow  of 
ocean  currents,  the  world  is  growing  old  and  the  lights 
of  heaven  are  fading  and  everything  visible  is  sub- 
ject to  change,  but  the  Church  of  Jesus  is  marching 
grandly  toward  the  goal  of  final  glory  and  everlasting 
deliverance,  from  the  finite  and  carnal  world-life,  to 
her  enthronement  in  the  presence  of  her  great  Head 
and  Lord.  Let  modern  Uzzas'  keep  their  hands  off  the 
Church  —  the  ark  of  God  —  and  go  forward  with  the 
marching  hosts  of  Israel.  "For  the  time  is  come 
that  judgment  must  begin  at  the  house  of  God;  and 
if  it  first  begin  at  us,  what  shall  the  end  be  of  them  that 
obey  not  the  gospel  of  God?"  I  Pet.  4:17.  "Do  ye 
not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the  world?  and 
if  the  world  shall  be  judged  by  you  are  ye  unworthy 
to  judge  the  smallest  matters?"  I  Cor.  6  :12. 

*'The  Lord  shall  come,  but  not  the  same 
As  once  in  lowliness  He  came, 
A  humble  man  before  His  foes, 
A  weary  man  and  full  of  woes." 

The  fact  that  Jerusalem  was  used  as  a  beginning 
place  for  the  introduction  of  the  gospel  enterprise,  the 
establishment  of  the  Church,  the  rejection  of  the  Jews, 
the  induction  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  substitute  of 
Jesus  in  the  Church,  and  the  inauguration  of  the  Gen- 
tile Dispensation,  is  clear  to  any  ordinary  reader  of 
the  scriptures.  Then,  is  it  not  also  true  that  Jerusalem 
is  vitally  included  in  the  divine  program  of  God,  for 
the  conclusion  of  a  finished  redemption,  involving  His 

[124] 


THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 

chosen  people,  the  termination  of  the  world-wide  evan- 
gelistic enterprise,  the  glorification  and  incorporation 
of  the  Gentile  Church,  with  the  re-gathered  Jews  as 
the  special  subjects  of  the  Davidic  covenant,  at  the 
time  of  their  restoration  to  the  divine  favor  and  their 
establishment  in  the  land  of  Palestine  ?  It  is  then  that 
they  will  accept  Jesus  as  their  Messiah  and  the  time 
when  the  Kingdom  shall  be  restored  to  Israel.  Since 
their  rejection  the  Kingdom  has  existed,  only  repres- 
entatively, the  Church,  —  established  under  Gentile 
control,  thru  the  personal  leadership  of  the  Holy  Spir- 
it, —  being  its  chief  executive,  has  locally  and  sover- 
eignly speaking,  filled  the  Kingdom  sphere  in  the 
world.  The  Church  has  the  administration  of  King- 
dom authority  and  power,  being  endowed  unctiously, 
with  its  regal  prerogative  of  righteousness,  and  will 
continue  to  hold  it  in  virtue  of  divine  right  and  invest- 
iture, until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  are  fulfilled  ' '  and 
Jesus  shall  be  established  on  David 's  throne  and  reign 
over  Israel  as  ''King  in  Zion."  And  so  all  Israel 
shall  be  saved :  as  it  is  written,  ' '  There  shall  come  out 
of  Zion  the  Deliverer,  and  shall  turn  away  ungodliness 
from  Jacob :  For  this  is  my  covenant  with  them  when 
I  shall  take  away  their  sins. ' '  Ro.  II :  26,  27.  Zion,  in 
old  Testament  prophecy  and  New  Testament  nomen- 
clature, means  the  Church  —  not  the  Kingdom.  Jesus 
dwells  in  the  Church,  accepting  it  as  His  body.  He 
will  continue  to  abide  with  it  thru  the  ages,  and  up  to 
the  closing  hours  of  Gentile  world  dominion,  then  He 
[125] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

will  come  out  of  it  —  Zion  —  and  visibly  appear  in 
the  character  of  Israel 's  ' '  Deliverer. ' '  The  Kingdom 
will  then  absorb  the  Church  and  ''  the  kingdoms  of 
this  world  will  become  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His 
Christ."  Jerusalem  will  be  the  seat  of  judgment. 
The  glory  throne  will  be  established  on  "Zion's  hill" 
within  her  sacred  precincts.  Jesus  wove  a  skein  of 
prophetic  utterances  around  the  ancient  ''city  of 
David,"  the  Metropolis  of  the  Jews,  and  made  it  the 
base  of  all  divine  movements  and  operations  that  have 
ever  been  launched  by  His  Father  in  the  world.  Her 
material  destiny  involved  the  issues  of  life  and  of 
death,  and  from  abandoned  sanctuaries  poured  forth 
life-giving  streams  of  heavenly  benedictions,  blessings 
of  peace,  and  immortal  hope  for  all  the  world,  like- 
wise the  spirit  of  judgment  and  divine  maledictions 
upon  sinners  of  every  age.  The  fall  of  Jerusalem  is, 
therefore,  the  most  distinguishing  and  fundamental 
evidence  of  the  second  coming  of  Jesus.  That  terrible 
event  was  necessary  to  the  extension  of  the  gospel 
Kingdom  to  all  peoples,  thru  Church  autonomy.  The 
nest  had  to  be  broken  up  before  the  eagles  of  heaven 
would  fly  into  ''all  the  world"  with  the  glad-tidings 
of  salvation  for  all  men.  Jerusalem  stood  in  the  way, 
hindering  divine  movements,  hence  it  was  impossible 
for  God  to  completely  and  properly  introduce  the 
Gentile  Dispensation  of  grace,  so  long  as  it  existed. 
He  therefore  put  the  sword  of  vengeance  in  the  hand 
of  Titus  and  moved  him  to  destroy  it,  and  the  world 

[126] 


THE    SECOND    COMING-   OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

knows  the  sequel.  And  furthermore,  Jesus  so  inti- 
mately connected  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  in  the  chain  of 
prophetic  evidences  that  heralded  His  second  Advent 
as  the  resurrected  and  glorified  Messiah  of  Israel,  that 
He  could  not  have  returned  in  fulfillment  of  prophecy, 
if  the  city  had  remained  intact;  and  according  to  His 
own  word,  His  return  to  the  world  the  second  time 
was  contigent  upon  that  catastrophe  and  would  have 
to  be  postponed  until  it  took  place.  Its  demolition 
and  ruin  thru  the  wrath  of  Jehovah  may  appear  to 
sentimentalists  to  be  cruel  and  tyrannical;  neverthe- 
less it  it  is  a  mercy  sent  in  disguise,  in  that  it  reveals 
the  stately  steppings  of  God  coming  to  judgment. 
But,  —  "if  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem,  let  my  right 
hand  forget  her  cunning. ' ' 

' '  Ye  visions  of  bright  heavenly  birth, 

Y©  glories  of  the  latter  day. 
Descend  upon  the  fallen  earth. 

And  chase  the  shades  of  night  away. 
Bid  streams  of  love  and  mercy  flow 
Through  every  vale  of  human  woe. 
Till  sin,  and  care,  and  sorrow  cease^ 
And  all  the  world  is  hushed  to  peace." 

In  harmony  with  the  discussion  of  events  occur- 
ring in  the  history  of  Jerusalem,  let  us  briefly  notice 
some  evidences  of  the  Second  Coming,  that  is  men- 
tioned by  Mathew  in  his  twenty-fourth  chapter. 
There  is  a  group  of  passages  from  verse  4-14  inclusive, 
that  bearing  upon  the  subject,  have  a  two-fold  mean- 
ing and  a  double  interpretation,  viz ;  they  set  forth  (1) 
[127] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

a  description  of  the  character  of  the  age  —  wars,  inter- 
national conflicts,  famines,  pestilences,  persecutions 
and  false  Christs.  A  memorable  passage  from  Dan- 
iel's prophecy  is  in  point:  "Ajid  after  threescore  and 
two  weeks  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off,  but  not  for  him- 
self :  and  the  people  of  the  prince  that  shall  come  shall 
destroy  the  city  and  the  sanctuary ;  and  the  end  there- 
of shall  be  with  a  flood,  and  unto  the  end  of  the  war 
desolations  are  determined."  Dan.  9:26.  The  above 
passage  contains  three  distinct  prophetic  events,  all  of 
which  have  long  since  happened  and  flnd  record  in  the 
pages  of  profane  history  and  of  course,  in  the  Bible. 

(a)  It  is  asserted  that  ''Messiah  would  be  cut  off," 
which  was  literally  fulfilled  in  the  death    of    Jesus. 

(b)  ''And  the  people  of  the  prince  that  shall  come 
shall  destroy  the  city  and  the  sanctuary, ' '  which  event 
transpired  when  the  Roman  army,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Titus,  destroyed  Jerusalem,  (c)  The  last 
statement  has  special  application  to  the  internal  con- 
ditions of  the  Jews  just  prior  to  the  fall  of  the  city, 
but  it  also  has  an  accommodated  meaning  and  its  lati- 
tude reaches  to  the  end  of  the  age,  including  all  other 
items  of  prophecy  mentioned  by  Jesus,  and  recorded 
in  the  twenty- fourth  chapter  of  Mathew's  gospel. 
Every  age  of  the  world  has  witnessed  the  repetition  of 
nearly  all  (if  not  all  completely),  since  they  were  re- 
vealed by  the  Master  two  thousand  years  ago,  but  no 
period  of  the  world's  history  has  possessed  a  more 
accurate  and  detailed  repetition  of  each  and  every  item 

[128] 


THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 

of  prophecy  that  He  said  would  take  place  before  He 
came  again,  than  the  present  age.  His  statement  about 
"war  and  rumours  of  war"  has  a  plethora  of  accom- 
plishment that  no  past  time  has  ever  known. 

The  world  is  practically  under  arms  and  rumourh 
of  prospective  conflicts  are  too  numerous  to  mention 
and  it  is  not  necessary  to  do  so,  because  the  public 
press  of  the  day  keeps  the  matter  well  advertised. 
The  European  war  furnishes  conditions  that  estab- 
lish every  item  of  verse  seven.  Read  and  study  it  in 
the  light  of  the  European  cataclysm,  remember  the 
impending  judgment,  and  in  reverent  fear  and  wor- 
shipful faith,  commit  the  ' '  keeping  your  soul  to  Him 
against  that  day : "  "  For  nation  shall  rise  against  na 
tion,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom :  and  there  shall  be 
famines,  and  pestilences,  and  earthquakes  in  divert. 
places."  What  a  spectacle  for  civilization!  Europe 
ablaze  with  the  dragon  torch  of  war !  Millions  dead  on 
foreign  fields,  piled  in  trenches  like  disease-inf ecte  i 
hogs  —  waiting  for  the  trumpet  of  judgment  to  sum- 
mon them  to  appear  before  the  "King  of  kings,"  to 
witness  earth 's  last  battle,  —  ' '  Gog  and  Magog, ' '  and 
millions  more  crowded  into  prison  camps,  to  suffer  the 
discomforts  of  poor  food,  unsanitary  quarters,  the 
ravages  of  vermin  and  constant  exposure  to  infectious 
diseases!  Other  millions  maimed  for  life,  facing  the 
alternative  of  a  helpless,  dependent  career,  or  the  cow- 
ard's  rash  madness,  expressed  in  suicide.  Thousands 
are  going  that  way,  choosing  to  die  by  their  own  hand, 
[129] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

rather  than  live  as  public  charges  upon  the  charity 
of  others.  The  little  mountain  Kingdom  of  Albania, 
has  been  practically  obliterated  and  swept  from  the 
map.  Her  people  literally  starved  to  death.  Belgium 
and  Poland  and  Serbia  are  begging  for  bread,  and  like 
Lazarus  of  old,  they  would  be  satisfied  with  the  crumbs 
that  fall  from  some  rich  nation's  table.  Earthquakes 
have  shaken  sections  of  Italy,  Turkey  and  Serbia 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  tremors  have  been 
felt  in  other  countries. 

It  is  a  time  of  great  peril.  It  is  not  a  time  of 
peace.  This  is  not  the  day  for  the  "Prince  of  Peace." 
It  is  a  day  of  trouble  and  wrath  and  calamity.  It 
reminds  one  of  the  picture  drawn  in  the  scriptures  of 
the  Ante-Diluvian  age.  Jesus  mentioned  Noah  > 
flood  and  showed  the  similarity  of  world  conditions 
that  would  obtain  in  the  closing  period  of  the  Gentile 
Dispensation  and  that  age,  saying,  "But  as  the  days 
of  Noah  were,  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of 
man  be.  For  as  in  the  days  that  were  before  the  flood 
they  were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving 
in  marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noah  entered  into  the 
Ark,  and  knew  not  until  the  flood  came  and  took  them 
all  away ;  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man 
be."  Christ  in  the  above  statements  makes  compari- 
sons between  the  age  of  Noah  and  the  closing  period 
of  the  Gentile  age  that  discourages  the  theory  that 
is  held  by  many  true  saints  of  God  and  scholarly 
preachers,  viz;  that  the  world  will  eventually  be  con- 
[130] 


THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 

verted  and  christianized,  so  universally  influenced  and 
dominated  by  gospel  principles,  that  the  Millenium 
will  be  established  prior  to  His  Second  Coming. 
Evangelization  is  world-wide  and  the  Church  is  re- 
creant to  the  task  assigned  to  it  by  Jesus,  if  it  with- 
holds the  gospel  from  the  Heathen  in  foreign  fields  or 
the  lost  in  the  homeland.  But  Jesus  never  gave  any 
encouragement  to  the  opinion  that  the  world  would 
ever  be  universally  christianized,  before  He  returned 
in  person  to  take  charge  of  the  Kingdom,  and  ''rule 
the  nations  with  a  rod  of  iron."  He  did  teach  that 
Christianity  would  ultimately  triumph,  and  sin  would 
be  eliminated  from  the  world,  but  He  identifies  that 
happy  period  with  the  time  of  His  visible  manifesta- 
tion, which  takes  place  immediately  at  the  appointed 
time  for  the  great  Tribulation  epoch  to  close  and 
which  event  is  still  future.  He  says,  "When  the  Son 
of  man  shall  come  in  His  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels 
with  Him,  then  shall  He  sit  upon  the  throne  of  His 
glory :  And  before  Him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations : 
and  He  shall  separate  them  one  from  another,  as  a 
shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  goats :  And  He 
shall  set  the  sheep  on  His  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on 
the  left."  Two  classes  of  persons  appear  before 
Jesus  in  this  "judgment  of  the  nations,"  Math.  25:31- 
33.  The  christian  (sheep)  populace  is  divided  from 
the  unbelieving  (goat)  class,  which  proves  conclu- 
sively that  there  will  never  be  a  period  in  the  history 
of  the  world  when  Jesus  will  not  have  true  believing, 
[131] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

consecrated  people  to  serve  Him  and  ''watch"  for  His 
return  to  the  earth,  but  it  is  also  just  as  true  that  there 
will  never  be  a  time  during  the  Gentile  age,  when  sin- 
ners (goat  characters)  will  not  be  present  in  the  earth 
and  largely  in  control  of  world  affairs.  Now  this 
brings  us  (2)  to  a  consideration  of  the  second  group 
of  scriptures  that  mentions  those  events  that  charac- 
terize the  ' '  end  of  the  age. ' '  Prior  to  the  ' '  end  of  the 
age ' '  the  gospel  will  have  been  preached  among  all  na- 
tions for  a  witness,  as  it  was  heralded  among  the 
nations  contiguous  to  Jerusalem,  before  it  was  des- 
troyed; then,  says  Jesus,  ''the  end  will  come."  He 
does  not  say  that  the  nations  will  be  converted  or  thav 
a  majority  of  those  peoples  among  whom  the  gospel  is 
preached  will  believe  it  and  accept  Him,  but  that  it 
shall  be  preached  for  a  witness  in  all  the  world  and 
among  all  nations  and  following  that  achievement, 
the  end  will  come.  And  He  emphatically  teaches,  in 
the  comparison  that  He  draws  between  the  times  of 
Noah  and  the  present  Gentile  age,  that  the  world  will 
grow  worse,  socially,  politically  and  religiously,  wax- 
ing in  murderous  licentiousness,  vicious  immorality, 
intemperate  greed,  domestic  infidelity  and  blasphem- 
ous atheism.  In  the  days  of  Noah,  the  earth  genera- 
tions had  become  so  besotted  with  sensuality  and  the 
love  of  carnal  pleasures,  that  the  knowledge  of  virtue 
and  soul  purity  had  perished  from  their  hearts  and 
memories.  They  were  bestial,  proud,  implacable 
tyrannical,  atheistic.  They  lost  the  knowledge  of 
[132] 


THE    SECOND    COMING   OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

God  thru  the  indulgence  of  carnal  desires  and  passions 
and  the  suppression  of  the  better  and  more  god-like 
attributes  of  their  natures.  The  better  self  was  cruci- 
fied, conscience  crushed,  the  moral  judgment  de- 
throned, and  the  best  elements  of  mind  and  the  most 
ennobling  traits  of  character  were  sacrificed  on  the 
altars  of  unrestrained  sensual  indulgences  and  godless, 
immoral  practices.  They  departed  from  the  faith  of 
their  fathers  and  scoffed  mockingly  at  the  threatened 
deluge.  They  sinned  away  their  day  of  grace,  and  lost 
their  birthright  —  selling  it  willingly  —  for  the  grati- 
fication of  unholy  and  depraved  desires.  They  did  not 
possess  the  knowledge  of  God  in  any  degree,  so  far  as 
the  record  shows.  And  this  condition  did  not  result 
from  the  failure  upon  God's  part,  to  provide  them 
with  a  true  oracle  from  heaven,  that  was  administered 
under  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  delivered 
by  a  divinely  called  preacher.  Noah  preached  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  and  never  secured  a  con- 
vert outside  of  his  own  family.  A^id  he  preached  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit  too.  But  Methuse- 
lah, a  son  of  one  of  the  most  highly  honored  believers 
who  ever  lived  on  the  earth,  and  who  was  translated 
and  went  to  heaven  without  dying,  evidently  perished 
in  the  flood.  He  lived  nine  hundred  and  sixty  nine 
years,  then  died  and  went  to  hell.  The  home  is  the 
foundation  of  the  state  and,  incidentally,  also  of  the 
Church,  and  it  must  be  preserved  in  purity,  peace  and 
conjugal  happiness,  if  we  would  preserve  the  govern- 
[  133  ] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

ment,  foster  a  knowledge  of  God,  advance  religion 
and  maintain  high  standards  of  true,  benevolent 
ethicalism.  I  made  the  above  remark  in  order  to  call 
attention  to  a  statement  that  Jesus  made  about  matri- 
monial affairs  during  the  Ante-Diluvian  age,  and  He 
used  it  to  illustrate  similar  conditions  that  will  be  the 
practice  of  vast  multitudes  of  people,  when  He  comes 
the  second  time  to  the  world:  "For  as  in  the  dayb 
that  were  before  the  flood,  they  were  eating  and  drink- 
ing, —  being  prosperous  but  ungrateful,  happy  tho 
extremely  wicked,  living  in  ease  and  luxury  and  dense 
ignorance,  experimentally,  of  the  impending  day  of 
wrath,  and  knew  not  until  the  flood  came  and  too^ 
them  all  away,  so  it  will  be  in  the  days  of  the  Son 
of  man,"  says  Jesus.  His  coming  will  find  the  vast 
majority  of  mankind  unprepared  spiritually,  and  ig- 
norant and  unalarmed  about  that  great  event,  and  it 
will  come  upon  them  unexpectedly,  like  a  ''thief  in  the 
night."  But  the  expression,  "marrying  and  giving 
in  marriage  until  the  day  that  Noah  entered  into  the 
Ark,"  is  the  one  with  which  we  are  at  this  juncture 
specially  concerned.  He  gives  us  plenty  of  latitude 
for  the  interpretation  of  the  passage,  and  it  is  eas}^ 
for  a  thinking  person  to  see  a  more  than  ordinary 
meaning  underlying  the  phrase,  "giving  in  marriage.*' 
Soul-affinity  in  sexual  relations  between  the  sexes,  was 
commonly  practiced  in  that  far-distant  day.  They 
were  very  modern  and  up-to-date  in  social  affairs,  and 
if  the  affinity  did  not  suit  and  the  relations  happened 

[134] 


THE    SECOND    COMING   OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

not  to  be  congenial,  they  seemed  to  have  been  at  liberty 
to  form  other  and  more  agreeable  relations  with  the 
opposite  sex.  Do  you  ever  hear  of  things  like  that 
happening  today  ?  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  divorce  evil 
has  become  so  common  among  us  that  we  have  come  to 
look  upon  it  not  only  with  allowance,  but  with  passive 
endorsement?  However,  we  have  not  reached  the 
Ante-Diluvian  stage  of  moral  depravity  and  marital 
infidelity,  generally  speaking,  tho  in  many  sections  of 
our  world  we  are  well  on  the  way  and  making  great 
progress  in  the  downward  course  of  moral  deprecia- 
tion. But  bad  as  conditions  were,  marriage  did  not 
entirely  pass  away  in  Noah's  time,  tho  in  connection 
with  the  legal,  divine  relation,  concubinage  was  un- 
blushingly  practiced  by  all  classes.  The  original  word 
that  Jesus  used  in  the  aramaic  tongue,  indicates  the 
fact  of  ''giving  in  marriage"  to  be  according  to  the 
definition  mentioned  above.  And  when  we  remember 
that  Jesus  mentioned  the  depravity  of  a  past  age  to 
portray  the  evil  condition  of  a  future  age  of  the 
world.  His  description  of  spiritual  matters  and  im- 
moral tendencies  that  are  before  us  and  destined  to 
grow  worse,  is  certainly  not  re-assuring  to  a  post- 
millennialist.  However,  the  "Captain  of  our  Salva- 
tion" has  faithfully  warned  us  in  advance  that  we 
might  be  prepared  to  meet  difficulties  as  they  come,  do 
our  best  and  leave  results  with  God.  Let  us  therefore 
continually  keep  in  mind  the  warning  that  He  gave, 
viz;  ''But  as  the  days  of  Noah  were,  so  shall  the  com- 
[135] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

ing  of  the  Son  of  man  be."  In  concluding  this  divi- 
sion of  the  subject  I  offer  what  is  to  my  mind  one  of 
the  strongest  and  most  convincing  proofs  that  can  be 
produced  in  favor  of  the  pre-millenial  theory  of  the 
Second  Coming.  Why  did  not  Jesus  mention  Enoch 
or  Elijah,  in  addition  to  Noah  ?  They  were  translated 
and  went  to  the  eternal  world  in  their  bodies. 

They  never  experienced  death,  and  from  the  day 
of  their  birth  and  up  to  the  present  time,  they  have  oc- 
cupied their  physical  structures,  and  while  eternal 
ages  roll,  they  will  enjoy  a  glorified  state,  without 
having  entered  it  thru  death.  Moses  was  evidently 
raised  from  the  dead,  and  dwells  in  his  original  body, 
being  a  type  of  the  resurrected  Gentile  Church,  that 
was  justified  and  redeemed  by  Jesus  under  the  law. 
Moses  and  Elijah  appeared  with  Jesus  in  the  mount  of 
transfiguration,  and  were  given  a  revelation  of  the 
second  coming  of  Jesus ;  but  Enoch,  who  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  first  person  in  the  history  of  the 
world  and  the  first  one  in  the  development  of  the 
plan  of  redemption  to  mention  it,  was  not  present. 
But  Jesus  did  not  say  one  word  about  either  of  them, 
when  discussing  the  judgment  of  the  nations,  at  His 
return  to  the  world,  and  also  the  evidences  of  that 
stupendous  event.  However,  Noah  and  the  deluge  are 
given  an  important  place  in  His  discussion,  and  it 
appears  conclusive,  therefore,  to  the  writer,  that  He 
had  a  special  truth  to  relate  that  vitally  concerned  the 
Church,  rejected  Israel  and  the  world  at  large,  warn- 
[136] 


THE    SECOND    COMING   OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

ing  and  instructing  in  the  mysteries  of  eschatological 
or  last  things,  and  encouraging  the  Gentile  Church  to 
persevere  in  godliness,  courageous  devotion  to  Him,  as 
its  great  Head,  spiritual  worship,  and  to  steer  clear  of 
Judaizing  ritualistic  religion.  This  also  distributed 
the  ' '  gospel  of  the  kingdom ' '  in  all  the  world,  and  in- 
spired the  hearts  of  the  scattered  remnants  of  Jacob  in 
the  hope  that  they  would  be  re-gathered  and  restored 
to  their  lost  dominion  '  ^  at  the  end  of  the  age. ' '  Hence 
it  is  very  plain  that  Noah  was  used  as  a  type  of  elect 
Israel,  who  will  be  preserved  during  the  period  of 
tribulation,  when  the  anti-Christ  will  reign  as  the  su- 
preme ruler  of  the  combined  kingdoms  and  nations  of 
the  world,  but  which  event  cannot  take  place  during 
the  Church  age  and  the  residence  of  that  institution  — 
the  body  of  Christ  —  being  filled  as  it  is  and  will  con- 
tinue to  he,  during  its  existence  in  the  world,  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  personal  vice-gerent  of  Jesus,  who,  as 
His  Viceroy  in  the  earth,  will  prevent  the  rise  and 
enthronement  of  Anti-Christ,  during  the  interval  be- 
tween the  first  Church  Pentecost  and  the  completion 
of  its  evangelistic  mission,  in  the  closing  period  of  the 
world's  history,  '^the  last  days,"  or  the  end  of  the  age 
of  mercy  or  grace.  All  of  which  proves,  conclusively, 
that  Gentile  world-powers  will  grow  worse,  increasing 
in  more  ungodliness,  falling  more  completely  under 
the  control  of  Satan,  who  is  preparing  them  for  the 
reception  of  his  personal,  incarnated  representative 
or  viceroy,  at  the  ''end  of  the  age,"  tho  evil  will  be 
[137] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

restrained  and  wickedness  hindered,  in  all  lines  of  its 
development,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Church,  so 
long  as  the  Church  is  in  the  world.  Satan  will  never 
be  the  controlling  genius  of  the  age,  the  master  of  the 
world  situation,  during  the  tenure  of  the  Church  and 
the  Spirit  dispensation.  But,  if  the  fact  that  Noah 
preached  for  more  than  a  century  without  getting  a 
convert  has  any  particular  reference  to  this  age  (and 
who  can  disprove  it?)  we  need  not  be  surprised  if  the 
countless  numbers  of  elect  Gentiles  are  called  in  be- 
fore the  coming  of  Messiah,  and  a  period  of  fruitless 
evangelism,  extending  thru  many  years  of  missionary 
and  arduous  christian  labors,  follows  as  a  result.  The 
Church  at  the  present  time  is  losing  its  ''leavening 
power"  and  hardly  an  echo  of  its  voice  is  heard, 
mingling  with  the  confusion  and  multitudinous  din 
of  national  and  international  affairs  and  conflicts. 
It  is  a  time  of  political  babel  and  the  world  is  in  an 
uproar  of  excitement,  distressing  apprehension  and 
unrest.  These  conditions  may  be  temporarily  im- 
proved or  even  eliminated  entirely  for  a  time,  but  only 
to  return  with  more  force  and  effect  in  the  future. 
The  world  will  never  enjoy  a  permanent,  lasting 
peace  until  Jesus  comes.  Furthermore,  we  should  not 
be  surprised  if  the  Church  should  enter  a  period  of 
time  that  will  be  characterized  by  engrossing  wicked- 
ness, persecution  and  active  opposition  to  Jesus,  and 
when  the  oracle  of  God  will  fail  to  convict  the  lost, 
and  no  salvations  reward  the  preachers  of  the  gospel. 
[138] 


THE    SECOND    COMING   OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

Noali's  fruitless  preaching  under  the  direction 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  his  day,  unerringly  foreshad- 
owed a  similar  disheartening  condition  that  will  occur 
during  the  Church  age.  And  it  must  still  he  future, 
because  there  has  never  teen  an  age  since  Noah's  time 
that  God  did  not  have  an  elect  people  in  the  world  and 
salvations  could  not  he  secured  thru  scriptural  meth- 
ods of  work,  and  it  does  not  apply  to  the  present  time, 
because  the  gospel  is  acheiving  many  remarkahle  vic- 
tories in  different  parts  of  the  world  and  particularly 
among  Heathen  peoples;  nor  does  it  have  any  refer- 
ence to  the  tribulation  period,  because  there  will  not 
be  any  evangelistic  work  or  gospel  preaching  in  that 
age,  forasmuch  as  it  will  be  under  the  control  of  Sat- 
an, the  Church  and  Holy  Spirit  being  withdrawn  from 
the  world  and  at  the  end  of  this  time  of  horror  and 
unspeakable  trouble,  the  gospel  will  be  preached  by  an 
angel,  but  it  will  not  be  attended  by  conversions.  To 
anti-christian  hosts,  it  will  unfold  the  burden  of  judg- 
ment; but  to  Israel,  that  have  been  miraculously 
preserved  thru  the  tribulation,  it  will  be  the  gospel 
of  the  Kingdom,  because  they  are  the  heirs  of  the 
Kingdom  and  Jesus  promised  to  restore  it  to  the  Jews. 
Therefore,  the  conclusion  forces  itself  on  one's  mind, 
that  Noah 's  time  of  salvationless  preaching  pointed  to 
a  spiritual  decline  that  is  beyond  the  present,  and 
that  falls  in  the  order  of  affairs,  this  side  the  future 
time  for  the  return  of  Jesus. 

Now  let  us  come  to  the  conclusion  of  the  whole 
[139] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

matter.  When  will  Jesus  come  the  second  time? 
What  will  be  the  form  of  his  appearance  and  what 
events  will  characterize  his  return  to  the  world? 
Briefly,  and  in  the  fear  of  an  omnipotent,  omniscient 
and  omnipresent  God,  the  Judge  of  all  peoples  and 
kindreds  and  tongues,  I  will  endeavor  to  answer  the 
above  grave  and  solemnly  impressive  questions. 
Jesus  informs  us  that  He  will  come  at  the  close  of  the 
age,  (Math.  24:14)  meaning  the  gospel  or  Church  age, 
and  which  incident  is  one  of  the  hidden  secrets  of 
eternity,  and  as  we  have  before  seen,  is  not  known  to 
angels  and  was  not  revealed  to  His  disciples;  for  he 
said,  ''but  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  man,  no 
not  the  angels  of  heaven,  but  my  Father  only. ' '  And 
God,  in  His  wisdom  and  goodness  and  in  the  merciful 
protection,  preservation  and  the  best  interest  of  the 
human  race  has  kept  the  secret  of  time  and  date  for 
closing  of  the  gospel  age,  shut  up  in  His  great,  good, 
loving  heart.  God  has  not  witheld  any  truth  or  fact 
or  incident  of  the  present  life,  or  of  the  eternal  one 
that  is  impending,  that  could  be  of  help  to  us  in  solv- 
ing the  vexing  problems  that  are  involved  in  the  ad- 
justment of  our  lives  to  His  Will,  in  christian  rela- 
tions, or  that  would  cast  sufficient  light  upon  the  enig- 
matical future,  to  enable  us  to  enjoy  the  elevating  ex- 
perience of  immortal  hope,  and  walk  in  the  lustrous 
guidance  of  His  benign  counsel  all  ''the  days  of  our 
life."  If  some  angel  were  dispatched  to  this  world 
with  authority  to  reveal  that  mysterious  secret  of 
[140] 


THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 

eternity,  the  disclosure  of  the  ''day  and  the  hour" 
would  plunge  the  world  into  pandemonium.  We 
could  not  endure  the  shock  of  its  terrible  recital, 
material  progress  would  stop,  the  wheels  of  commerce 
refuse  to  roll,  overwhelming  floods  of  confusion  cover 
the  world,  civilization  collapse  into  irretrievable  ruin 
and  horrors  infernal  and  indescribable,  supplanting 
peace  and  banishing  hope  from  our  shores,  would 
stalk  abroad  in  the  land.  We  do  not  need  to  know 
the  secret.  We  can  live  better  without  it.  Our  special 
duty  regarding  His  coming  is  to  keep  in  readiness  for 
it,  love  His  appearing  and  watch  for  it  continually. 
Be  calm,  studious,  faithful  and  go  forward  with  your 
work,  proving  your  belief  of  the  doctrine  of  His  Sec- 
ond Advent  by  your  holy,  reverent  and  consecrated 
life.    Pope 's  words  are  relevant : 

''Good  sense,  which  only  is  the  gift  of  Heaven 
And  tho  no  science,  is  fairly  worth  the  seven.'' 

It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that  He  will  return  to 
the  world  and  having  said  that  it  would  be  at  the 
''end  of  the  age."  We  should  reverently  avoid  any  fur- 
ther investigation  of  a  matter  that  can  never  be  known 
until  it  actually  takes  place.  But  when  Jesus  does 
return,  what  will  be  form  or  manner  of  His  manifesta- 
tion? Will  His  appearance  be  visible  to  the  whole 
world  at  that  time?  The  first  appearance  will  occur 
when  Jesus  leaves  the  mediatorial  throne  in  heaven, 
where  He  has  reigned  as  the  representative  of  the 
[141] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

human  race,  and  the  advocate  of  His  people,  since  the 
date  of  His  ascension  to  "the  right  hand  of  tlib 
Father."  He  will  come  thru  Paradise  and  bring  the 
saved  of  all  the  ages,  who  have  been  gathered  there 
from  among  all  races,  and  out  of  every  generation  of 
men  who  have  lived  in  this  world,  from  and  including 
the  last  believer,  who  may  die  before  the  close  of  this 
age.  Paul  throws  a  flood  of  light  upon  this  subject: 
But  ye  are  come  unto  the  Mount  Zion,  and  unto  the 
city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and 
to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  to  the  general 
assembly  and  Church  of  the  firstborn,  written  in  hea- 
ven, and  to  God  the  judge  of  all  and  to  the  spirits  cf 
just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of 
the  new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling  that 
speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel"  Heb.  12 :22- 
24.  Mount  Zion  in  the  text  is  where  the  throne  of 
David,  upon  which  Christ  will  reign  during  the 
messianic  age,  will  be  erected  and  it  was  situated 
outside  the  gates  of  the  city  of  David,  who  mentions  it 
in  his  first  Psalm :  ' '  Yet  have  I  set  my  King  upon  my 
holy  hill  of  Zion,"  but  the  Mount  Zion  of  the  future 
age  is  represented  in  the  separate  place  for  the  right- 
eous dead,  —  Paradise,  because  the  ' '  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect  "  ''Whose  names  are  written  in 
heaven,"  —  the  heaven  of  heavens,  mentioned  by 
Solomon,  the  third  heaven  of  Paul  and  John,  and  the 
''heavenly  Jerusalem"  of  the  text,  are  subjects  of 
the  prospective  reign  of  Messiah,  the  King  over  the 
[142] 


THE    SECOND    COMING   OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

Davidic  Kingdom,  that  will  be  established  simultaa- 
eously  with  the  gathering  in  of  Jewish  remnants, 
hence  Paradise  is  related  to  heaven  as  Mount  Zion  of 
David's  time  was  related  to  Jerasulam.  The  names 
of  all  persons  recorded  in  the  eleventh  chapter  oj. 
Hebrews,  the  twelve  Apostles,  who  will  reign  jointly 
with  Jesus  in  the  Messianic  age,  and  the  righteous 
dead  of  all  past  ages  and  those  who  in  future  time 
will  enter  it  thru  death,  are  subjects  of  "mount  Zion" 
and  will  one  day  be  glorified  and  reign  with  Jesus  on 
the  earth.  A  disembodied  soul  cannot  be  glorified 
apart  from  the  body  that  it  once  occupied,  hence 
they  are  barred  from  the  "heavenly  Jerusalem"  until 
after  the  resurrection  and  the  consummation  of  the 
redemptive  work  of  Jesus  on  the  earth.  ' '  Then  cometh 
the  end,  —  the  end  of  the  Davidic  Kingdom  on  earth, 
—  when  He  shall  have  delivered  up  the  Kingdom  to 
God,  even  the  Father :  when  He  shall  have  put  down 
all  rule  and  all  authority  and  power."  Then  God, 
the  Father,  who  has  given  Jesus  supreme  control  of 
the  universe,  authority  as  Judge  of  all  creatures  in 
heaven  and  earth  and  hell,  putting  all  under  sub- 
jection to  Jesus,  the  Father  excepting  himself,  will  ac- 
cept the  glorified  Kingdom,  and  we  will  be  received 
into  His  presence  and  the  "heavenly  Jerusalem" 
will  be  our  eternal  home.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  Jesus  did  not  enter  into  His  Father's  presence 
in  His  disembodied  form,  but  He  did  enter  Paradise 
and  told  the  penitent  thief  that  He  could  go  with 
[143] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

Him  to  that  place,  and  during  that  day.  God  the 
Father  is  not  enthroned  in  Paradise;  because,  how 
would  it  have  been  possible  for  Jesus  to  have  gone  to 
Paradise  and  not  to  have  seen  or  met  His  Father? 
And  He  refused  to  let  Mary  touch  Him  after  His 
resurrection,  assigning  as  the  reason  for  it,  —  ''touch 
me  not,  for  I  have  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father;" 
hence,  He  did  not  go  to  heaven  at  death,  but  to  Para- 
dise, the  intermediate  place  of  reception  for  the 
righteous  dead ;  and  God's  throne  is  in  the  latter  place, 
heaven,  for  Jesus  said  it  was,  and  enjoined  the  Apos- 
tles against  the  use  of  vain  repetitions  or  profane 
covenant  oaths  in  prayer,  saying,  —  "But  I  say  unto 
you.  Swear  not  at  all;  neither  by  heaven;  for  it  is 
God's  throne."  Then  if  Jesus  was  not  permitted  to 
ascend  to  His  Father  at  death,  that  is,  enter  heaven, 
without  His  body,  is  it  reasonable  for  ordinary  be- 
lievers to  expect  to  receive  such  an  honor  ?  But  Jesus 
did  ascend  to  His  Father  after  His  resurrection  and 
entered  upon  His  mediatorial  duties  as  the  High  Priest 
of  souls  and  He  continually  makes  "intercession  for 
us  according  to  the  Will  of  God. ' ' 

When  Jesus  returns  to  the  earth,  He  will  come 
thru  Paradise  and  bring  its  inhabitants  with  Him  to 
His  station  in  the  mid-heaven.  ' '  For  if  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  which  sleep  in 
Jesus,  will  God  bring  with  Him."  I  Thes.  4:14.  The 
language  of  Paul  is  self-explanatory  and  does  not  need 
comment  or  elaboration  to  bring  out  the  fact,  intro- 
[144] 


THE    SECOND    COMING   OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

dueed  by  him,  viz ;  that  the  dead  in  Christ  ascended 
to  Paradise  and  lived  there,  until  He  took  them  oat  of 
it  and  brought  them  into  the  mid-heaven.  And  when 
He  enters  that  place  on  His  return  to  this  earth,  the 
disembodied  souls,  —  "spirits  of  just  men  made  per- 
fect, ' '  —  will  never  be  separated  from  Him  again  and 
will  not  have  long  to  wait  for  their  bodies,  for  the 
resurrection  of  the  bodies  of  believers  will  be  near. 
Jesus  will  not  descend  to  the  earth  immediately  after 
He  takes  His  station  in  the  firmament,  (Gen.  2:14  & 
16)  that  is,  when  the  ''sun  became  black  as  sack- 
cloth of  hair,  and  the  moon  became  as  blood."  (Rev. 
6:12);  but  the  resurrected  and  the  living  believer 
will  be  ''caught  up  together  with  them  (resurrected 
believers  who  will  precede  the  living  believers  to  the 
meeting  with  Jesus),  in  the  clouds,  so  shall  we  ever 
be  with  the  Lord."  I  Thes.  4:17.  This  reunion  of 
soul  and  body  will  constitute  the  rapture  of  saints 
and  bring  to  pass  in  our  experiences  the  promised 
change  from  "mortality  to  immortality  and  from 
corruption  to  the  incorruption, "  and  as  to  the  time 
required  to  accomplish  it,  Paul  tells  us  that  it  will 
done  in  the  "twinkling  of  an  eye."  "Behold,  I 
show  you  a  mystery;  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we 
shall  all  be  changed,  In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,  at  the  last  trump:  for  the  trumpet  shall 
sound  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible,  and 
we  shall  be  changed.  For  this  corruptible  must  put 
on  incorruption  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immort- 

[145] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

ality."  I  Cor.  15:51-53.  The  descent  of  Jesus  to  the 
mid-heavens  will  be  spectacular,  displaying  redeemed 
souls  of  all  past  ages  in  the  glorious  equipment  of  un- 
changing immortality,  innumerable  hosts  of  angels  in 
its  train  and  acclaimed  by  the  voice  of  the  Arch- 
angel and  the  sound  of  the  trumpets  of  jubilee ;  but  I 
do  not  believe  that  it  will  be  visible  to  the  goat  na- 
tions of  earth.  Evidently,  the  glory  of  His  appearance 
in  the  star-spangled  heavens  will  be  concealed  from 
evil  doers  w^ho  are  living  on  the  earth  at  that  time,  ab 
the  glory  of  His  resurrected  body  was  witheld  from 
His  disciples;  and  it  will  therefore  not  be  visible  to 
wicked  men,  tho  it  will  be  revealed  in  all  its  res- 
plendent beauty  and  indescribable  glory  to  the  Church 
and  of  course  to  believers  of  pre-christian  times,  for 
they  will  participate,  personally,  in  the  rapturous 
occasion.  But  the  Church  will  slip  away  to  Him 
who  is  concealed  from  earth-nations,  in  the  clouds,  — 
natural  clouds,  and  also  clouds  of  angels  as  well,  — 
the  heavenly  bodies  announcing  the  presence  ot 
their  Maker  in  their  midst  by  a  universal  eclyps*:;  of 
sun,  moon  and  stars,  which  will  be  visible  to  all  the 
world;  but  during  the  confusion  occasioned  thereby 
among  the  peoples  of  the  earth,  believers  will  ascena 
with  the  rapidity  of  the  lightning  flash  and  disappe  ir 
from  the  sight  of  loved  ones,  left  to  their  sins  and 
the  dominion  of  Satan  on  the  earth.  ' '  Then  shall  two 
be  in  the  field;  the  one  shall  be  taken  and  the  other 
left.  Two  women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  mill;  the 
[146] 


THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 

one  shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left."  Math.  24:40-41. 
Earth  dwellers  will  hear  the  sound  of  angel  trumpets 
and  in  the  shadow  of  the  awful  eclypse  of  all  nature, 
will  think  that  it  is  unusually  heavy  thunder.  The 
withdrawal  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  with  the  Church,  from 
the  earth,  will  leave  earth 's  countless  hosts  of  darkness 
under  the  personal  and  visible  dominion  of  Satan  and 
the  knowledge  of  God  will  perish  from  the  earth,  and 
its  multitudes  will  be  incapable  of  entertaining  divine 
impressions.  Satan  will  be  driven  out  of  heaven  into 
the  earth.  The  first  time  that  Satan  was  driven  from 
the  presence  of  God  he  was  cast  out  of  the  mountain  of 
God  and  took  up  his  residence  in  the  air,  and  became 
the  ''Prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that 
now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience,"  (Eph. 
2 :2)  —  this  occurrence  being  described  by  the  prophet 
in  the  following  language :  "  By  the  multitude  of  thy 
merchandise  they  have  filled  the  midst  of  thee  with 
violence,  and  thou  hast  sinned:  therefore  will  I  cast 
thee  as  profane  out  of  the  mountain  of  God:  and  I 
will  destroy  thee,  0  covering  cherub,  from  the  midst 
of  the  stones  of  fire."  Ezek.  28:16. 

The  speaker  who  addressed  Satan  in  the  above 
language  was  Jesus,  who  meets  him  again  in  the 
heavens  and  casts  him  out  of  them  into  the  earth. 
Therefore  rejoice,  ye  heavens,  and  ye  that  dwell  in 
them  (glorified  hosts  of  God).  Woe  to  the  inhabiters 
of  the  earth  and  the  sea !  for  the  Devil  is  come  down 
unto  you,  having  great  wrath,  because  he  knoweth  that 
[147] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

he  hath  but  a  short  time."  Rev.  12 :12.  His  dominion 
will  be  brief  on  the  earth,  but  his  coming  into  the 
earth  will  inaugurate  the  period  of  tribulation.  ' '  For 
then  shall  be  great  tribulation,  such  as  was  not  since 
the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this  time  (when  Satan 
is  cast  into  the  earth),  no,  nor  ever  shall  be."  Math. 
24:21.  This  will  be  a  time  of  unprecedented  trouble 
on  the  earth,  tho  Satan,  knowing  that  his  reign  here 
will  be  short,  will  seek  to  defeat  Jesus,  by  imitating  as 
nearly  as  it  will  be  possible  for  him  to  do  it,  the  time 
of  universal  peace  and  righteousness  and  security  that 
Jesus  will  introduce,  when  He  decends  from  the 
heavens  to  the  earth  at  the  close  of  the  tribulation 
period.  Hence  Satan  will  raise  up  a  prince  from 
among  the  Romans,  who  was  foreshadowed  by  Titus, 
the  destroyer  of  Jerusalem  the  Anti-christ  and  who 
will  himself  be  a  Ceasar;  and  the  Imperial  empire  of 
Rome  will  be  restored  and  it  will  thru  its  ruler,  the 
Anti-Christ,  control  all  the  nations  and  kingdoms  of 
the  earth  for  three  and  a  half  years,  or  the  last  half  of 
the  seventieth  week  of  Daniel.  "Seventy  weeks  are 
determined  upon  thy  people  and  upon  thy  holy  city,  to 
finish  the  transgression,  and  to  make  an  end  of  sins, 
and  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  to  bring 
in  everlasting  righteousness ;  and  to  seal  up  the  vision 
and  the  prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  most  Holy."' 
Dan.  9 :24.  The  first  part  of  Anti-Christ  reign  will  be 
characterized  by  peace  and  great  prosperity.  He  will 
be  an  actual  human  being,  incarnated  by  Satan.    This 

[148] 


THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 

was  what  Satan  meant  when  he  told  Jesus  that  if  He 
would  worship  him  (the  Devil),  he  would  give  him  all 
the  kingdoms  of  the  world  which  will  be  consolidated 
as  the  ''beast"  under  the  rule  of  Anti-Christ.  "And 
I  stood  upon  the  sand  of  the  sea  and  saw  a  beast  rise  up 
out  of  the  sea,  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and 
upon  his  horns  ten  crowns,  and  upon  his  heads  thb 
names  of  blasphemy."  Rev.  13:1.  The  incarnated 
Christ  is  to  be  imitated  by  Satan,  who  will  possess  thy 
elements  and  attributes  of  the  Roman  Caesar  so  com- 
pletely, as  to  be  incarnated  in  him.  This  last  and  final 
Caesar  will  rule  over  the  nations  by  virtue  of  the  auth- 
ority and  power  that  Satan  gives  to  him.  In  a  time  of 
trouble  Anti-Christ  will  receive  a  mortal  wound,  but  he 
is  miraculously  healed  and  the  fact  makes  a  sensational 
impression  upon  his  subjects  who  advertise  it  from  one 
end  of  the  world  to  the  other,  ' '  and  all  the  world  won- 
dered after  the  beast."  I  wonder  if  that  wound  will 
not  be  self-inflicted  by  Satan 's  direction  ?  After  occu- 
pying the  body  of  the  last  of  the  Caesars  will  Satan  be 
deceived  by  his  own  wicked  imagination  into  the  opin- 
ion that  he  is  then  sufficiently  human  to  die  and  will 
he,  therefore,  attempt  suicide  or  will  he  bewitch  some 
valiant  soldier  and  induce  him  to  strike  the  fatal  blow 
against  Anti-Christ,  while  he  is  under  the  enchantment 
of  the  spell?  Death  to  Satan,  in  the  physical  sense, 
would  mean  annihilation  and  he  surely  knows  it.  I 
verily  believe  that  the  metempsychosis  of  Satan  into 
soul  and  body  of  the  ''beast"  Caesar,  and  correspond- 

[149] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

ing  metastasis  of  the  human  elements  of  Caesar  into 
Satanic  genius,  will  fail  to  adhere  in  harmonious  com- 
bination; hence  Satan  will  find  it  difficult  to  act  and 
reason  and  think  as  the  supreme  Devil,  at  all  times, 
while  he  is  dtvelling  in  the  human  heing  and  having  a 
human  form.  There  will  be  two  natures  and  two 
'beings,  in  one  form,  but  the  incarnation  will  he  in- 
complete in  the  sense  of  perpetual  union;  therefore 
Satan  will  find  himself  thinking  thru  the  human 
mind  and  then,  when  the  mental  maze  is  cleared  he 
will  think  thru  his  own  mind  and  indulge  his  own 
thoughts  without  being  influenced  hy  the  brain  of  the 
man  that  he  will  occupy  and  fill  during  the  time  of 
his  infernal  incarnation.  But  he  must  have  forgotten 
that  as  a  devil  he  could  not  die  nor  escape  the  ' '  judg- 
ment of  the  Lamb."  Caesar  will  have  physical  im- 
mortality so  long  as  the  Devil  dwells  personally  in 
him,  because  he  will  be  a  satanized  human  and  a 
humanized  Devil.  Failing  to  take  his  own  life  or 
destroy  the  human  form  thru  which  he  works,  Satan 
will  give  great  power  and  honor  to  the  Anti-Christ 
and  the  nations  of  the  earth  will  give  him  hero-wor- 
ship, unconsciously  worshipping  the  Devil  without 
knowing  it.  He  will  be  a  great  orator,  an  eloquent 
blasphemer,  whose  sublime  rhetoric  and  sparkling 
diction  will  thrill  and  captivate  the  souls  of  men,  and 
his  elegant  periods  ending  in  a  threatening  challenge, 
thrown  into  the  face  of  God  in  heaven,  will  be  en- 
cored thruout  the  world.  He  will  be  a  military  char- 
[150] 


I 


THE    SECOND    COMING   OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

acter  and  a  mighty  man  with  the  sword.  He  will 
make  war  on  the  saints,  remnants  of  Jacob,  and  he 
will  overcome  them  and  force  them  into  a  slavish 
captivity.  And  the  spell  of  his  enchantment  will 
hold  the  nations  in  line  with  his  program,  and  com- 
pel their  faithful  obedience  to  him  as  their  worshipful 
master.  ''And  it  was  given  unto  him  to  make  war 
with  the  saints,  and  to  overcome  them:  and  power 
was  given  him  over  all  kindred  and  tongues  and  na- 
tions. And  all  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  wor- 
ship him,  whose  names  are  not  written  in  the  book  of 
life  (but  there  will  be  as  many  as  a  hundred  and 
forty-four  thousand  such  people,  elect  Jews  on  the 
earth),  of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world."  Rev.  13:8.  Anti-Christ  will  also  blaspheme 
the  tabernacle  of  God,  which  will  be  located  in  the 
heavens  with  "the  Lamb."  He  causes  an  image  to  be 
made  to  the  beast  as  men  of  old  were  required  to  do 
homage  to  the  Roman  Emperor. 

But  "he  (Anti-Christ)  that  leadeth  into  captivity, 
shall  go  into  captivity. ' '  Jacob 's  trouble  will  soon  be 
ended  and  Israel  restored  to  their  beloved  Jerusalem. 
A  great  spiritual  change  has  taken  place  in  the  hearts 
of  elect  Jews.  In  the  rapturous  joy  of  salvation,  they 
forget  their  miseries  and  ignore  the  galling  chains  of 
an  unjust  and  inhuman  slavery  that  Anti-Christ  im- 
posed upon  them ;  and  facing  toward  the  eastern  hills 
of  David's  kingdom-domain  that  are  encrimso|ned 
with  the  dawn  of  eternal  day,  as  it  brightens  in  the 
[151] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

nearer  approach  of  the  ''sun  of  righteousness"  com- 
ing to  the  "judgment  of  the  nations,"  they  suddenly 
lift  up  their  voices  in  happy  song,  in  "honor  of  Moseb 
and  the  Lamb."  And  as  the  worshipful  libation  of 
music  pours  forth  in  rhythmic  cadence  and  melodious 
crescendo,  echoing  and  re-echoing  among  Judean  hills, 
they  are  startled  into  the  ecstacy  of  the  full  realization 
of  Messianic  hope,  and  as  the  words  of  song  die  on 
their  lips,  a  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  tongues 
shout  the  triumphs  of  Jesus  in  anti-Christian  airs  and 
proclaim  Jesus  their  King.  The  earth  trembles  and 
the  little  hills  seem  to  move  to  and  fro,  the  morning 
light  paints  forest  and  vale  and  glen  with  acres  of 
diamonds  and  fields  of  gleaming  pearl:  now  the 
morning  light  has  given  way  before  the  shimmering 
billows  of  noonday 's  effulgent  presence,  and  Jesus  has 
descended  upon  Zion's  hill  and  the  "kingdoms  of 
this  world  have  become  the  kingdoms  of  God  and  His 
Christ."  Zechariah  says:  "And  His  feet  shall  stand 
in  that  day  upon  the  mount  of  Olives,  which  is  before 
Jerusalem  on  the  east,  and  the  mount  of  Olives  shall 
cleave  in  the  midst  thereof  toward  the  east,  and  toward 
the  west,  and  there  shall  be  a  very  great  valley;  ana 
half  of  the  mountain  shall  remove  toward  the  north, 
and  half  of  it  toward  the  south. ' '  Zech.  14 :4.  Isaiah 
mentions  the  same  circumstance,  but  in  a  slightly  dif- 
ferent form,  viz ;  "  The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the 
wilderness  (John  the  Baptist),  prepare  ye  the  way 
of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  (Churchless 
[152] 


THE    SECOND    COMING   OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

age  of  tribulation  that  has  existed  three  and  a  half 
years),  a  highway  for  our  God.  Every  valley  shall  be 
exalted,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made 
low:  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the 
rough  places  plain:  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together :  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it. ' '  Isa.  40 :3-5.  This 
will  be  the  moment  when  the  appearance  of  Jesus 
will  be  universally  visible  to  all  the  world  and  the 
eternities.  The  descent  of  Jesus  to  the  mount  of 
Olives  will  take  place  during  the  song  of  converted 
Israelites,  the  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  sons 
of  Jacob  who  have  endured  the  terrible  persecution 
of  Anti-Christ  and  lived  thru  the  tribulation  period. 
Just  before  its  close,  the  Holy  Spirit,  returned  to  the 
earth  in  His  mysterious,  dynamic  power,  and  worked 
the  spiritual  change  of  regeneration  in  their  hearts. 
'^And  He  shall  sit  (Meaning  Jesus  in  the  heavens,  who 
is  personally  represented  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  His 
Paraclete),  as  a  refiner  and  purifier  of  silver;  and  He 
shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  and  purify  them  as  gold 
and  silver,  that  they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offer- 
ing in  righteousness."  Mai.  3:3. 

While  celebrating  the  carnival  of  spiritual  joy 
with  the  melody  of  song,  Jesus  will  descend  to  the 
earth  and  take  His  appointed  place  as  King  of  Israel, 
on  Zion  's  hill.  He  will  meet  Satan  face  to  face  again 
and  this  time  Jesus  will  authorize  an  angel  to  arrest 
him,  binding  him  with  chains,  —  and  to  then  shut  him 
[153] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

up  in  the  bottomless  pit.  ''And  I  saw  an  angel  come 
down  from  heaven,  having  the  key  of  the  bottomless 
pit  and  a  great  chain  in  his  hand.  And  he  laid  hold 
on  the  Dragon,  that  old  serpent,  which  is  the  Devil, 
and  Satan,  and  bound  him  a  thousand  years.  And 
cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and  shut  him  up,  and 
set  a  seal  upon  him,  that  he  should  deceive  the  nations 
no  more  until  the  thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled : 
after  that  he  must  be  loosed  a  little  season."  Eev. 
20  :l-3.  But  the  first  thing  that  will  take  place  upon 
the  arrival  of  Jesus  in  the  earth,  will  be  the  judgment 
of  the  nations  and  the  converted  Jews  (sheep)  will  be 
separated  from  the  anti-Christian  hosts  (Goat  nations), 
then  the  angels  will  be  permitted  to  wreak  vengeance 
upon  them,  "and  they  will  gather  them  in  bundles," 
(slaying  them  in  heaps),  thus  severing  ''them  from  the 
just,"  (Jews  —  sheep  nations),"  And  shall  cast  them 
into  the  furnace  of  fire:  there  shall  be  wailing  and 
gnashing  of  teeth."  Math.  13:49-50.  Immediately 
following  the  cremation  of  the  wicked  dead,  the  world 
wiU  be  renovated  by  fire.  "But  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  which  are  now,  by  the  same  word  are  kept  in 
store,  reserved  unto  fire  against  the  day  of  judgment 
and  perdition  of  ungodly  men."  II  Pet.  3:7.  The 
thirteenth  verse  makes  the  matter  a  little  plainer,  viz ; 
' '  Nevertheless  we,  according  to  His  promise,  look  for  a 
new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  right- 
eousness." "With  the  destruction  of  Anti-Christ  and 
his  hosts,  and  the  binding  of  Satan,  He  will  accom- 
[154] 


THE    SECOND    COMING    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

plish  the  literal  fulfillment  of  Malachi's  prophecy 
about  that  specific  work  of  Messiah,  viz ;  And  ye  shall 
tread  doAvn  the  wicked ;  for  they  shall  be  ashes  under 
the  souls  of  your  feet  in  the  day  that  I  shall  do  this, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  Jesus  is  reigning  King  in 
Zion.  The  kingdom  of  hell  has  passed  from  the  earth 
domain  and  the  scepter  of  satanic  power  is  broken 
forever.  The  world  shines  resplendent  in  the  renewed 
glory  of  a  once  lost  Eden,  but  now  fully  restored  to 
the  world.  Its  subjects  are  not  burdened  with  carnal 
natures,  but  they  occupy  immortalized  bodies,  from 
which  every  element  of  sin  has  been  removed  and  they 
are  deathless,  tireless,  more  glorious  than  angels,  and 
each  one  of  them  resembles  Jesus  their  King. 


[155] 


CHAPTER   VIII 

Resurrection  of  the  Dead 

The  doctrine  of  resurrection  is  the  very  capstont. 
of  gospel  truth.  It  is  the  diamond  that  out-shines  all 
other  gems  that  adorn  the  Savior's  crown.  Nature 
furnishes  abundant  testimony  to  the  uprising  of  all 
the  dead,  as  can  be  seen  through  analogy.  Martin 
Luther  says,  "Our  Lord  has  written  his  promise  not 
in  books  alone,  but  in  every  leaf  of  Spring-time.'' 
Day  dies  into  night  and  is  buried  everywhere  in  dark- 
ness. The  glory  of  the  world  is  obscured  in  the  shadow 
of  death.  Its  entire  substance  is  tarnished  with  black- 
ness. Things  become  sordid,  silent,  stupid.  Business 
ceases  and  occupations  rest.  And  so  over  the  loss  of 
night  there  is  mourning.  But  the  day-spring  bursts 
its  bands  of  mist,  casts  its  roseate  blush  of  dawn  o'er 
the  shadow-haunted  earth,  crimsoning  forest  and  glen, 
making  the  dew  drops  pendant  on  leaf  of  tree,  flower- 
ets and  shrub,  sparkle  as  myriads  of  diamonds  in  the 
morning  light.  Thus  Phoebus,  clad  in  his  lustrous 
robe  of  day  takes  his  throne.  Shadows  flee  from  his 
presence  and  the  stars,  abashed  at  their  insigniflcance, 
hide  their  faces  in  the  hem  of  his  gorgeous  garment. 
All  is  life.  Everything  is  awake.  The  world  is  aglow 
with  industry  and  business  activity.  Nature  has  lifted 
[156] 


RESURRECTION    OF    THE    DEAD 

the  veil  of  mourning  from  her  face  and  opening  the 
sepulchre  of  her  death  steps  forth  refreshed,  strength- 
ened and  resplendent  in  her  eJffulgent  beauty.  The 
great  Spurgeon  says,  ''The  seasons  are  four  evange- 
lists having  their  testimony  to  utter  to  us. ' '  Summer 
preaches  to  us  of  God's  goodness,  of  the  richness  of 
his  bounty,  of  that  lavish  munificence  with  which  Ht. 
is  pleased  to  supply  the  earth,  not  simply  with  food  for 
man,  but  with  delights  for  both  eye  and  ear  in  the 
beauteous  landscape,  the  melodies  of  birds  and  the 
flowers  of  various  hue.  The  still  small  voice  of  Au- 
tumn that  bears  the  wheatsheaf  whispers  to  us  in  the 
rustling  sear  leaf  and  the  falling  acorn.  He  bids  us 
prepare  to  die.  ''All  of  us,"  says  he  "are  like  flowers 
that  fade  or  the  grass  that  now  is  and  tomorrow  is 
cast  into  the  oven."  Winter,  snow-crowned  and  clad 
in  his  brilliant  mantle  of  frost,  thunders  a  most  solemn 
sermon  on  the  terrors  of  God's  vengeance.  He  tries 
to  make  us  see  how  soon  he  can  strip  the  earth  of  all 
its  pleasantries  and  robe  it  in  storm,  when  He  shall 
come  to  judge  it  in  righteousness.  Then  comes  Spring, 
the  beautiful  maid  of  the  seasons,  tripping  o'er  the 
daisies,  preaching  to  us  in  the  opening  bud  and  the 
fragrance  of  the  full-blown  flower,  fields  of  growing 
grain,  and  verdant  forest,  a  glorious  sermon  on  the 
resurrection.  She  says :  ' '  Man  shall  live  again  tho  he 
die."  As  the  seed  when  sown  germinates  and  springs 
forth  in  the  tender  plant,  so  shall  man  come  forth  from 
the  dust  of  the  earth  and  enter  upon  an  eternal  heri- 
[157] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

tage  and  never-changing  state  of  weal  or  woe.  Death 
to  the  Christian  is  a  blessing  in  disguise.  It  is  a 
Jacob's  ladder  upon  which  we  climb  up  to  our  Fath- 
er's throne;  hence,  amidst  the  dissolution  of  nature 
we  can  with  rapture  sing :  ' '  Believing  in  the  midst  of 
our  afflictions  that  death  is  a  beginning,  not  an  end, 
we  cry  to  them,  and  send  farewells,  that  better  might 
be  called  predictions,  being  foreshadowings  of  the 
future  thrown  into  the  vast  unknown. ' '  Now  may  the 
Holy  Spirit  lead  us  into  a  clear  knowledge  of  the 
glorious  tho  solemn  subject,  that  writer  and  reader 
may  be  profited  together  and  strengthened  in  the  faith 
and  fellowship  of  the  gospel. 

The  Real  Identity  of  the  Body 

The  real  identity  of  the  body.  The  Apostle  uscb 
a  figure  of  a  seed,  a  tarnished  grain  of  wheat  being 
deposited  in  the  ground  it  dies,  all  the  farinaceous  part 
of  it  decays  and  is  reduced  to  a  peculiar  fine  soil,  into 
which  the  life-germ  finds  refuge  and  upon  which  it 
feeds.  The  grain  itself  dies  with  the  exception  of  a 
particle  too  small  to  be  visible  to  the  natural  eye.  In 
a  short  time  we  see  a  delicate  blade  peeping  through 
the  clods.  It  grows  until  the  full  fruition  appears. 
Here  you  have  a  stalk  bearing  many  grains  of  wheat, 
A  short  time  ago  you  held  in  your  hand  a  rusty  grain 
small  and  shriveled  but  which  when  planted  produced 
this  wonderful  harvest.  You  did  not  sow  that  beauti- 
[158] 


RESURRECTION    OF    THE    DEAD 

fill  waving  grain  that  yields  so  gracefully  to  every 
gentle  zepher  that  kisses  her  golden  cheek.  You  sowed 
that  which  has  borne  it.  ' '  Thou  sowest  not  that  body 
that  shall  be  but  bare  grain,  it  may  chance  of  wheat, 
or  of  some  other  grain :  But  God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it 
hath  pleased  him,  and  to  every  seed  his  own  body." 
Thus  God  in  a  mysterious  way  preserves  the  seed 
sown  and  causing  it  to  germinate  gives  it  a  manifold 
reproduction,  and  at  the  same  time  securing  its  real 
identity.  We  have  an  illustration  of  God's  method 
of  raising  the  dead  in  this  inspired  harvest  scene.  The 
body  is  sown  in  corruption.  What  is  more  repugnant, 
lothsome  and  nauseating  than  a  dead  body?  What 
sickening  results  follow  in  the  wake  of  Death !  His 
cythe-stroke  breeds  infection,  pollution  and  carnage. 
An  Upas  shadow  gathers  in  dismal  darkness  about 
his  bloodstained  blade.  Behold !  a  picture  of  life  and 
death  as  I  shall  endeavor  to  paint  it  on  the  ethereal 
canvas  of  your  imagination.  There  she  sits  solitary  in 
the  lime-light  of  her  own  reflected  beauty. 

She  is  beauty's  noblest  Queen.  She  is  the  ad- 
mired of  men  and  the  despair  of  angelic  women.  The 
fragrance  of  the  violets  is  in  her  breath.  Her  eyes 
sparkle  as  tho  Arcturus  and  his  brilliant  sons  had 
fallen  from  their  thrones  and  had  lost  their  way  in 
their  liquid  brown  depths.  The  daintiest  colorings  ot 
the  rose  blushes  crimson  in  her  cheeks.  Her  teeth 
whiter  than  pearls  glisten,  as  though  they  were  pol- 
ished in  pure  extract  of  lilies.  Nothing  about  her  re- 
[159] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

minds  one  of  death.  In  our  admiration  we  think  of 
imperishable  angels  or  some  wandering  spirit  that  has 
never  been  cloyed  by  earth.  But  wait  a  moment.  See 
that  wriggling  serpent  cling  to  her  cheek?  There  is 
another  and  another  and  another.  How  pale !  Oh  she 
faints :  Help  !  Help  !  AVhere  are  her  attendants  ?  Send 
for  Antony !  Too  late  !  The  far-famed  beauty  Cleopatra 
is  dead!  The  bejeweled  hand  is  cold  and  stiff.  An 
idiotic  stare  o'er-spreads  her  countenance.  The  lips 
part  in  stupid  silence  and  the  hands  lie  limp  and  mo- 
tionless, across  her  pulseless  breast.  Ah,  her  beauty 
is  departed  and  her  glory  must  be  interred  with  her 
bones.  This  form  once  so  lovely  is  now  food  for 
worms.  She  is  sown  in  corruption.  There  she  lies  after 
the  passage  of  twenty  centuries.  That  grinning  skele- 
ton is  all  that  remains  of  the  world's  renowned  beauty. 
What  body  will  she  have?  who  is  able  to  answer? 
' ' God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased  him. "  "To 
every  seed  his  own  body."  Here  we  let  the  curtain 
fall.  Beyond  this  we  have  no  desire  to  penetrate  the 
veil.  Hence  brethren  we  are  a  handful  of  seed  or  a 
measure  of  corn  or  wheat.  Our  sowing  in  the  ground 
is  soon  to  come.  What  form  will  this  seed  have? 
None  of  you  can  tell.  But  your  bodies  evidently  have 
each  their  own  life  germ.  The  flowers  of  the  meadows 
have  their  own  peculiar  root  and  seed-germ.  Thus 
we  have  preserved  to  us  variety  in  the  vegetable  king- 
dom. So  shall  it  be  in  the  resurrection.  Each  physi- 
cal body  will  come  forth  from  the  death  shades,  bear- 
[160] 


RESURRECTION    OF    THE    DEAD 

ing  fruit  consonant  to  its  seed  nature.  God  will  give 
us  bodies  as  it  shall  please  Him,  "to  every  one  of  us 
his  own  body. "  Not  some  other  man's  body.  But  the 
very  one  in  which  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  resi- 
dence. The  same  body.  Thank  God!  I  believe  that 
every  atom  of  this  body  in  which  I  live  today,  will  be 
preserved  in  that  body  that  God  shall  give  me,  when 
the  trumpet  sounds  and  Jesus  shall  come  to  be  "  glori- 
fied in  his  saints."  Not  in  the  same  sense  however 
that  the  identical  particles  spring  up  to  make  a  blade 
and  the  full  corn  in  the  ear.  Yet  they  shall  be 
identical  in  the  sense  that  they  spring  from  this  body, 
and  shall  be  the  true  result  and  development  of  poor 
flesh  and  blood.  I  am  aware  that  there  are  many  ob- 
jections offered  to  this  doctrine.  But  this  is  of  small 
moment  to  me.  So  long  as  I  can  have  a  ''thus  sayeth 
the  Lord"  for  my  faith  and  opinions  I  feel  secure 
and  am  content  to  advocate  them  and  leave  results 
with  God. 

The  Doctrine  of  the  Resurrection  is  Purely  a 
Doctrine  op  Revelation 

Immortality  is  not  distinctively  a  doctrine  of 
revelation,  I  mean  in  the  sense  that  the  resurrection  is, 
or  of  regeneration  or  redemption,  or  any  other  card- 
inal doctrine  of  revelation ;  not  that  immortality  is  not 
a  doctrine  of  Christianity  and  identified  with  super- 
natural revelation,  but  I  mean  that  it  is  different  from 
[161] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

resurrection  in  the  method  that  is  employed  for  its 
demonstration,  in  that,  through  all  the  ages,  men  in 
every  condition  of  life,  from  the  lowest  state  of  barbar- 
ity to  the  highest  plane  of  culture  and  civilization, 
have  naturally  entertained  a  belief  in  immortality. 
And  it  has  been  accomodated  to  the  system  of  revela- 
tion having  been  incorporated  with  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity.  It  was  therefore  not  necessary  to  make 
a  special  revelation  regarding  the  doctrine  of  immort- 
ality, because  it  was  almost  universally  accepted  in  all 
ages,  and  by  all  people,  tho  its  relation  to  the  revela- 
tion of  Bible  doctrine  has  brought  it  into  clearer  light 
and  given  it  an  explanation,  confirming  men  in  the  be- 
lief of  it,  the  writers  of  the  scriptures  using  it  by 
means  of  correlation  in  the  system  of  Christian  doc- 
trine, as  an  incidental  base  for  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  and  the  enlargement  and  elucidation  of 
the  Christian  hope.  Prior  to  the  development  of  the 
divine  revelation  of  God,  contained  in  the  holy  scrip- 
tures, the  hope  of  immortality  was  not  thoroughly 
understood,  being  eclypsed  by  pagan  superstitious 
ideals,  and  in  the  absence  of  direct  revelation,  setting 
forth  the  true  ideal  of  hope  for  a  future  emancipation 
of  the  mind  from  the  darkness  of  superstition  and  un- 
certainty regarding  a  future  state  of  happiness  that 
the  idea  of  immortality  always  had  in  purview,  the 
hope  of  immortality  was  therefore,  often  obscured,  fal- 
ing  into  complete  collapse,  being  substituted  in  the 
heart  of  an  inquirer  about  future  things  by  a  spirit  of 

[162] 


RESURRECTION    OF    THE    DEAD 

despair  and  hopeless  anxiety.  Thus  we  hear  the  Pat- 
riarch Job  crying,  "  If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again  ? ' ' 
Reasoning  with  his  unbelief,  or  doubts.  Job  appeals  to 
nature,  and  says  to  his  disquieted  heart :  ' '  For  there  is 
hope  of  a  tree  if  it  be  cut  down,  that  it  will  sprout 
again,  and  that  the  tender  branch  thereof  will  not 
cease.  Though  the  root  thereof  wax  old  in  the  earth, 
and  the  stock  thereof  die  in  the  ground,  yet  through 
the  scent  of  water  it  will  bud,  and  bring  forth  boughs 
like  a  plant.  But  man  dieth  and  wasteth  away;  yea 
man  giveth  up  the  ghost  and  where  is  he?"  The 
same  cry  has  been  the  burden  of  the  human  heart  in 
all  ages.  It  has  been  voiced  to  the  heavens  in  whis- 
pered accents  and  in  thunder  tones.  Man  has  looked 
up  into  the  skies  and  thought  to  read  his  destiny  in 
the  stars.  Shrouded  in  his  own  shadows,  failing  to 
understand  his  own  personality,  the  unguided  light 
of  consciousness  within  him,  flickering  uncertainly 
and  casting  its  fitful  flashes  across  the  horizon  of  his 
soul,  served  only  to  intensify  the  deepening  shadows  of 
his  hopelessness;  therefore  he  investigated  nature  to 
the  fullest  extent  of  his  limited  ability  in  an  effort  to 
build  up  the  doctrine  of  immortality  from  analogy.  He 
has  observed  the  seasons  and  tried  to  gather  hope  on 
that  field.  And  as  a  last  resort  he  has  turned  his  eye 
within,  and  out  of  the  deep  longings  of  the  human 
soul,  he  has  sought  to  construct  an  argument  that 
would  satisfy  reason,  and  silence  the  instinctive  fear 
of  annihilation.  But  he  got  no  further  in  a  satisfac- 
[163] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

tory  solution  of  the  matter  than  did  the  Patriarch 
Job  in  the  olden  times.  The  most  erudite  and  cul- 
tured, the  most  advanced  thinkers  and  philosophers  of 
antiquity,  never  attained  to  a  true  knowledge  of 
immortality;  nor  devised  a  doctrine  of  the  resurrec 
tion.  They  never  so  much  as  received  a  hint  of  it,  to 
say  nothing  of  teaching  it  in  any  of  their  philosophies. 
It  remained  for  God  to  give  a  distinct  revelation  of  the 
doctrine  of  resurrection,  and  thereby  enlarge  the  nat- 
ural hope  of  immortality,  and  form  a  true  basis  for 
the  "blessed  immortality  of  the  gospel"  that  fills  the 
heart  of  all  believers  with  the  assurance  of  eternal 
life,  bringing  them  into  the  experience  of  a  resurrec- 
tion hope.  It  would  be  unjust  to  the  memory  of  Job, 
and  a  blasphemous  reflection  upon  the  great  Book  that 
bears  his  name,  the  oldest  volume  of  our  scriptures, 
were  I  to  leave  this  part  of  the  subject  without  ex- 
plaining to  my  readers  the  fact  that  Job,  after  all  of 
his  afflictions,  calamities  and  great  misfortunes  was 
given  a  special  revelation  of  the  redemptive  work  of 
Jesus,  so  that  in  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  his  book, 
we  hear  him  exclaiming:  "For  I  know  that  my  re- 
deemer liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  da> 
upon  the  earth :  And  tho  after  my  skin  worms  destroy 
this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God:  Whom  I 
shall  see  for  myself  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and 
not  another;  tho  my  reins  be  consumed  within  me." 
It  is  clear  from  the  above  words  that  Job  accepted  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  as  fundamental  and  neces- 
[164] 


RESURRECTION    OF    THE    DEAD 

sary  to  the  development  of  a  Christian  hope,  and  es- 
sential to  the  existence  of  Christianity  itself.  Greek 
Philosophers  in  Athens  hissed  the  doctrine  when  it  was 
preached  by  Paul  on  Mars  Hill.  They  called  him  a 
"babbler"  or  a  vain  person  teaching  an  intellectual 
vagary  that  had  no  basis  in  natural  religion.  They 
unwittingly  complimented  the  doctrine  of  resurrection 
and  unconsciously  accepted  Paul's  position  and  by 
rejecting  it  as  a  doctrine  of  nature,  classed  it  abovt 
nature  and  a  natural  religion,  acknowledging  that  it 
was  a  new  doctrine  and  belonged  distinctively  to  the 
Christian  revelation.  So  essential  to  the  integrity  of 
the  doctrine  of  Christianity  is  the  doctrine  of  resur- 
rection, that  Christianity  must  stand  or  fall  with  it. 
And  it  is  a  pivotal  fact  upon  which  depend  all  the 
other  doctrines  of  redemption. 

But  our  Lord  has  not  written  the  promise  of  re- 
surrection in  books  alone,  but  in  every  leaf  and  bud 
and  flowering  shrub  of  nature,  but  without  a  direct 
revelation  man  could  not  understand  the  benevolent 
instructions  of  nature.  Hence  nature  itself  must 
needs  be  explained,  and  it  required  a  revelation  from 
God,  the  Maker  of  nature,  to  make  it  known.  God 
has  filled  all  nature  with  continual  emblems  of  this 
doctrine.  He  has  given  a  great  number  of  illustrations 
in  the  arrangements  of  nature  and  providence.  What 
is  night  but  the  death  of  day  ?  What  is  morning  but 
its  resurrection  from  the  shades  of  night?  Winter  is 
the  death  of  the  year.     The  seared  brown  leaf,  the 

[  165  ] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

bare  forest  and  the  faded  grass  of  the  field  are  em- 
blems of  death.  But  spring  with  its  unfolding  bud, 
its  fragrant  flowering  shrub  and  sunny  skies,  southern 
breezes  and  awakening  nature,  is  a  beautiful  illustra- 
tion of  the  resurrection. 

Anticipate  the  hour, 
When,  at  the  archangel 's  voice,  the  slumbering  dust 
Shall  wake,  nor  earth,  nor  sea,  withhold  her  dead; 
When  starting  at  the  crash  of  bursting  bombs. 
Of  mausoleums  rent,  and  pyramids 
Heaved  from  their  base,  thy  tyrant  of  the  grave, 
Propp  'd  on  his  broken  sceptre,  while  the  crown 
Falls  from  his  head,  beholds  his  prison-house 
Emptied  of  habitants;  beholds 
Mortal,  in  immortality  absorb 'd. 
Corruptible  in  incorruption  lost. 

It  is  objected  sometimes  that  men's  bodies  are 
scattered  over  the  fields  to  fertilize  the  soil.  Hence 
atoms  that  compose  them  are  caught  up  in  plant  life 
and  are  transferred  to  the  bodies  of  men  and  animals. 
If  so,  how  can  they  be  tracked?  I  will  answer  that 
question  by  asking  one.  Granting  that  God  made  nat- 
ure, is  it  not  easier  for  him  to  preserve  all  the  atoms 
of  our  physical  bodies,  than  it  was  originally  for  him 
to  make  the  first  atom  from  nothing?  So  far  as  that 
is  concerned  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary  for  him  to 
preserve  every  particle  of  the  human  structure,  in 
order  to  accomplish  the  full  purpose  of  a  literal  resur- 
rection, a  sufficient  number  of  atoms,  particles  and 
material  elements  to  secure  the  identity  of  the  sown 
body,  being  all  that  is  demanded  by  the  scriptures. 

[166] 


i 


RESURRECTION    OF    THE    DEAD 

"Thou  sowest  not  that  body  that  shall  be,  but  bare 
grain  it  may  chance  of  wheat  or  of  some  other  grain. ' ' 
Nevertheless  I  believe  that  every  part  of  the  human 
structure  will  be  raised  from  the  dust. 

"Like  as  the  flaming  comet  doubles  wide 
Heaven's  mighty  cape;  and  then  revisits  earth, 
From  the  long  travel  of  a  thousand  years; 
Thus  at  the  destined  period  shall  return 
He,  once  on  earth,  who  bids  the  comet  blaze; 
And  with  Him  all  our  triumph  o'er  the  tomb." 

Wycliffe's  body  was  burned  to  ashes,  and  the 
ashes  scattered  upon  the  bosom  of  the  river.  It  is 
difficult  for  an  objector  to  understand  how  the  atoms 
composing  his  body,  after  they  had  been  carried  by 
the  river  into  the  sea,  and  scattered,  perhaps  to  every 
known  shore,  could  be  re-gathered  and  re-assembled 
into  a  glorious  body  such  as  the  Bible  describes.  Did 
any  of  these  changes  haj)pen  to  the  reformer's  body 
irrespectively  of  those  natural  laws  which  God  has 
ordained?  It  is  a  well  known  chemical  law,  that  by 
the  use  of  proper  agencies  bodies  that  have  been 
dissolved  can  be  re-assembled  and  restored  to  their 
pristine  state.  One  illustration  will  suffice:  A  silver 
vase  or  any  silver  vessel  can  be  dissolved  in  aqua- 
fortis and  restored  by  an  addition  of  water  to  the 
chemical.  Then  why  cannot  Jehovah  without  violating 
the  law  of  nature  or  even  trespassing  the  principle  of 
chemical  affinity,  restore  a  dissolved  human  body  to 
its  original  form.  Granting  that  God  made  the  human 
body  from  the  dust  of  the  earth,  it  appears  to  me  to 
[167] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

be  a  less  difficult  task  for  God  to  preserve  the  atoms 
that  compose  the  body,  and  re-assemble  them  mto  a 
resurrected  body.  Peter  Martyrs,  a  celebrated  re- 
former, died  a  few  years  before  Queen  Mary's  reign. 
His  enemies  being  thwarted  in  an  attempt  to  secure 
possession  of  his  body,  were  angered  so  that  they  took 
the  bones  of  his  wife  and  buried  them  in  a  dunghill. 
During  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  her  friends  fearing 
that  her  mortal  remains  would  be  exposed  to  new 
indignities  took  it  from  its  contemptuous  hiding  place 
and  burned  it.  It  was  then  mixed  with  the  ashes  of  a 
romish  saint.  They  said,  ''now  these  romanists  will 
never  defile  her  ashes  because  they  will  be  afraid  of 
desecrating  the  relics  of  their  saint."  Now  how  can 
the  two  be  divided?  Just  as  easily  as  wheat  can  be 
separated  from  barley.  Each  body  possesses  its  own 
distinctive  seed-germ.  All  flesh  is  not  the  same  kind 
and  no  two  human  bodies  precisely  alike. 

The  blessed  in  the  new  covenant 
Shall  rise  up  quickened,  each  one  from 

his  grave. 
Wearing  again  the  garments  of  flesh, 
Ministers  and  messengers  of  life  eternal. 

A  Glorious  Transformation 

The  body  is  mortal.  Always  subject  to  decay. 
We  live  in  a  poor  uncomfortable  tent.  The  canvas 
is  continually  being  rent,  the  cords  loosed  and  the 
stakes  removed.  We  suffer  in  mind  and  body,  burn- 
ing pains  rack  the    nerves.      We    languish    on   beds 

[168] 


RESURRECTION    OF    THE    DEAD 

of  affliction.  Some  are  victims  of  lingering  diseases. 
Some  suddenly  and  without  the  least  warning  cease 
to  breathe  and  we  follow  them  mournfully  to  their 
last  resting  place  in  the  solemn  city  of  the  dead,  the 
certain  destination  of  us  all.  God  has  so  willed  it  that 
each  must  return  to  his  or  her  native  dust.  But  not 
so  with  the  resurrection  body.  Spurgeon  says,  '  *  there 
shall  not  be  a  bone  nor  a  piece  of  a  bone  of  any  one 
of  Christ's  people  left  in  the  charnel  house  at  the 
last.  Death  shall  not  have  a  solitary  trophy  to  show : 
His  prison-house  shall  be  utterly  rifled  of  all  the  spoil 
which  he  has  gathered  from  our  humanity.  The 
resurrection  body  shall  be  deathless.  No  solemn 
hearse,  with  its  nodding  black  plumes,  in  heaven.  The 
New  Jerusalem  is  one  city  in  God's  vast  universe 
that  has  no  graveyards.  Death  with  his  grinning 
skull  and  hideous  crossbones  will  never  be  seen  on 
her  golden  streets.  Her  inhabitants  are  raised  in- 
corruptible. Age  on  age  shall  roll  into  immeasurable 
eternity,  but  no  sign  of  decay  will  be  permitted  to  mar 
the  glory  of  our  lustrous  bodies.  We  shall  have 
eternal  youth.  If  DeLeon,  the  Spanish  explorer,  who 
came  to  America  in  search  of  the  perpetual  fountain 
of  youth,  reaches  that  fair  clime  he  shall  not  be 
turned  away  a  disappointed,  broken-hearted  man. 
His  hopes  shall  dwell  in  unfading  youth  and  vigor 
forever. 

''That   great   mysterious   Deity 
We  soon  with  open  face  shall  see; 
The  beatific  sight 

[  169  ] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

Shall   fill   the   heavenly    courts   with 

praise, 
And  wide  diffuse  the  golden  blaze 
Of  everlasting  light." 

Thank  God!  our  hopes,  thoughts  and  longing 
after  immortality  are  not  acids  or  elements  of  clay, 
to  be  dissolved  in  the  moment  of  death  and  pass  like 
the  expiring  taper,  into  the  darkness  of  unconscious 
nonentity,  but  a  great  change  wUl  take  place  v^th 
respect  to  the  nature  and  beauty  of  our  bodies.  Here 
are  v^^e,  like  rusty  iron  or  flowers  that  fade,  or  like  the 
crawling  worm.  We  are  continually  subject  to  change. 
I  use  the  illustration  employed  by  all  preachers  when 
discussing  this  subject.  See  there  the  wriggling 
caterpillar?  There  is  nothing  comely  about  him  that 
''we  should  desire  him."  But  wait  a  few  weeks.  He 
is  now  entering  the  chrysalis  state.  He  will  soon  burst 
the  bonds  of  death  and  throwing  aside  his  winding 
sheet,  will  come  forth  equipped  with  glittering  wings. 
Having  arrived  at  a  full  state  of  perfection  he  shines 
with  rainbow  splendor,  reflecting  the  image  of  the 
creature  in  sunbeam.  So  shall  we,  after  passing  thro 
our  wormwood  state  here,  to  our  chrysalis  state  in  the 
grave,  burst  our  coffins  and  mount  aloft  more  glorious 
than  the  angels. 

*^To  will  is  ours,  but  not  to  execute. 
We  map  our  future  like  some  unknown  coast, 
And  say.  Here  is  a  harbor,  there  a  rock. 
The  one  we  wall  attain,  the  other  shun! 
And  we  do  neither!    Some  chance  gale  springs  up. 
And  bears  us  far  o'er  some  unfathomed  sea. 

[170] 


RESURRECTION    OF    THE    DEAD 

Our  efforts  all  are  vain;  at  length  we  yield 

To  winds  and  waves  that  laugh  at  man's  control. 

.     .     .     Upon  each  beckoning  scheme 
No  sooner  do  we  fix  our  hope,  than  still 
Time  bears  us  on,  leaving  each  still  undone, 
Adjourned  forever!" 

We  shall  be  changed  also  in  power.  "It  is  sown 
in  weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power."  We  are  puny 
things  here.  Our  strength  fails  with  the  passing  of  a 
few  hours.  Our  labors  wear  us  out,  and  a  few  more 
days  and  all  of  us,  like  burned  out  candles,  will  be 
extinguished  in  the  darkness  of  the  tomb.  But  we 
shall  be  raised  in  power.  Martin  Luther  thought 
that  the  resurrected  saint,  if  he  chose  to  do  it,  would 
be  strong  enough  to  shake  the  world.  Some  modern 
writers  borrowing  their  ideas  from  Milton,  when  he 
speaks  of  the  battles  of  the  angels,  where  they  plucked 
up  mountains  with  their  shaggy  loads  and  hurled 
them  at  the  fallen  spirits,  have  taught  that  we  shall 
be  clothed  with  gigantic  force.  Whether  we  go  the 
length  of  the  poet  or  not,  it  is  sufficient  for  us  to 
know,  that  we  will  possess  almost  infinite  strength, 
because  we  shall  be  like  Him  ''for  we  shall  see  Him 
as  He  is." 

''To  think,  when  heaven  and  earth  are 
fled, 
And  times  and  seasons  o'er. 
When  all  that  can  be  shall  be  dead, 

That  I  shall  die  no  more; 
Oh!  where  will  then  my  portion  be, 
Where  shall  I  spend  eternity?" 

[171] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 


Distinct  Personality 


If  you  sow  barley  you  will  reap  barley.  Neither 
death  nor  resurrection  makes  any  change  in  the  char- 
acters of  men.  The  mortal  lineaments  will  be  engraven 
on  the  inner  man,  which  every  day  of  an  unconverted 
life  makes  more  indelible  and  deeper ;  they  will  retain 
the  very  impress  they  have  gotten — unaltered  and  un- 
effaced  by  the  transition  from  our  present  to  our 
future  state  of  existence.  There  will  be  a  dissolution, 
then  a  reconstruction  of  the  body  from  the  sepulchral 
dust,  into  which  it  had  mouldered.  But  there  will  be 
neither  a  dissolution  nor  a  renovation  of  the  spirit 
which,  indestructible  both  in  character  and  essence, 
will  retain  its  identity  on  the  midway  passage  be- 
tween this  world  and  the  next ;  so  that  at  the  time 
of  quitting  this  earthly  tenement,  we  may  say  that  if 
unjust  now,  it  will  be  unjust  still ;  if  filthy  now  it  will 
be  filthy  still ;  if  holy  now,  it  will  be  holy  still.  We 
all  return  to  our  former  state  after  going  out  of  sight, 
the  character  remaining  fixed  and  unchanged  be- 
tween our  dissolution  and  the  day  of  our  account,  — 
that  terrible  day  of  horrors  and  terrors  to  many  of 
Adam's  unfortunate  race  —  that  day  of  universal 
triumph  for  the  blood-washed  hosts  of  redemption, 
that  day  that  shall  ring  the  death  knell  of  time, 
and  usher  us,  prepared  or  unprepared,  into  the  bosom 
of  eternity,  —  that  day  that  God  shall  come  forth 
from  the  pavilion  of  mercy  and  ascending  the  throne 

[172] 


i 


I 


RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD 

of  justice  take  account  of  all  His  creatures,  —  that 
day  of  judgment, 

''The  judgment!  the  thrones  are  all  set, 
Where  the  Lamb  and  the  white-vested  elders  are 

met! 
All  flesh  is  at  once  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord 
And  the  doom  of  Eternity  hangs  on  His  word." 


[173] 


CHAPTER   IX 

The  Millenium 

''I  know  that  He  whose  years  can  ne'er  decay 
Will  from  the  grave  redeem  my  sleeping  clay, 
When  the  last  rolling  sun  shall  leave  the  skies. 
He  will  survive,  and  o'er  the  dust  arise: 
Then  shall  this  mangled  skin  new  form  assume, 
This   flesh   shall   flourish   in   immortal   bloom: 
My  raptured  eyes  the  judging  God  shall  see. 
Estranged  no  more,   but  friendly   then   to   me. 
How  does  the  lofty  hope  my  soul  inspire! 
I  burn,  I  faint  with  vehement  desire." 

Thus,  Thomas  Scott  beautifully  paraphrases  the 
language  of  Job,  who  mentions  the  Messianic  Age  in 
the  book  that  bears  his  name.  ''For  I  know  that  my 
Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  He  shall  stand  at  the  latter 
day  upon  the  earth. ' '  And  tho  the  hope  of  the  "latter 
day,"  —  the  time  of  universal  peace,  when  wars  will 
cease,  and  swords  be  turned  into  plow  shares,  and 
spears  into  pruning  hooks,  is  specially  revealed  in  the 
scriptures  and  accorded  the  distinction  of  being 
devised  and  made  known  thru  the  superhuman  in- 
spiration of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  is  nevertheless  the 
hope  of  nations  today,  and  has  been  the  desire  of  na- 
tions of  past  ages;  and  tho  they  have  crumbled  into 
dust,  their  records  bear  testimony  to  the  fact  that  they 
too  looked  for  an  age  when  righteousness  would  rule 
supreme,  death  pass  from  the  experiences  of  men  and 

[174] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

universal  peace  and  immortal  life  become  the  unchang- 
ing and  fadeless  destiny  of  all  races  and  all  peoples 
in  the  world.  The  heart  of  the  world  is  more  deeply 
perplexed,  confused  and  terribly  shaken  by  grief  and 
despair,  at  the  present  time,  than  ever  before  in  its 
history.  Men  are  serious,  their  spirits  perturbed,  ap- 
prehensive and  in  feverish  haste,  they  are  endeavoring 
to  prepare  to  meet  those  things  that  are  coming  upon 
them,  but  they  do  not  understand  the  signs  of  the 
times.  The  world  is  in  the  grip  of  the  most  destruc- 
tive war  of  all  the  ages.  Those  nations  that  are  not 
directly  involved  in  the  awful  cataclysm,  are  feeling 
its  horrible  results  and  neutrals  tremble  with  alarm 
and  ever-increasing  concern,  as  they  see  the  strong 
nations,  like  a  whirling  maelstrom  of  blood  and  in- 
human carnage  with  irresistible  influence  and  over- 
whelming power,  drawing  the  weaker  and  more  help- 
less countries  into  its  general  ruin.  Men  are  thinking 
of  the  past,  and  are  trying  to  find  some  connecting 
link  between  world  conditions  of  the  present  and 
world  affairs  in  the  long  ago,  in  the  hope  of  getting 
light  upon  the  troubled  state  of  things  today:  and 
many  are  succeeding,  but  their  investigations  open 
new  fields  for  thought  and  imaginative  genius  to  ex- 
plore, and  the  further  processes  of  mental  search  lead 
on  to  deeper  and  more  unsatisfactory  developments. 
The  knowledge  that  we  acquire  thru  special  investiga- 
tion of  world-wide  conditions  of  society,  religion  and 
civilization,  is  confusing  to  the  mind,  and  many  turn 

[175] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

away  from  the  seemingly  hopeless  task  of  finding  a 
correct  solution,  and  refuse  to  see  anything  beyond 
the  bedlam  of  confusion  and  turmoil  and  the  aceldama 
of  blood  and  carnage  that  holds  Europe  in  its  savage 
grip,  and  banishes  peace  to  the  furthest  limits  of  the 
world.  But  countless  numbers  are  applying  to  the 
very  fountain  of  all  wisdom  and  knowledge,  and  from 
which  in  the  past  they  had  strayed,  viz;  the  Bible; 
and  they  are  eagerly  devouring  the  truths  contained  in 
its  sacred  pages,  and  their  search  for  light  and  soul- 
peace  is  being  strangely  rewarded.  They  find  hope, 
peace  and  assurance  of  an  age  of  peace,  —  a  golden 
age,  and  they  see  beyond  the  smoke-begrimed  horizon 
of  European  battlefields  the  glintings  of  the  world's 
sabbath,  as  it  descends  upon  a  sin-cursed  and  horror- 
struck  world  from  the  eternal  and  glory  crowned  hills 
of  Zion.  The  mysticism  of  the  age  is  clearing  away, 
and  men  are  coming  to  their  senses.  They  are  taking 
correct  bearings,  and  they  realize  that  the  national 
destiny  of  all  nations  is  uncertain,  and  where  and 
when  and  how  it  will  all  end  is  a  problem  that  none 
can  satisfactorily  solve.  A  thinking  person  cannot 
find  any  comfort  or  gratification  in  a  vision  of  the 
world,  waxing  as  it  is,  more  and  more  wickedly,  unless 
such  an  one  is  willing  to  accept  the  explanation  of  all 
these  antagonistic  evils  given  in  the  word  of  God,  and 
abide  the  decisions  of  the  Almighty,  and  rest  in  hope 
of  the  future  day  of  glory  and  emancipation  for  the 
world  and  the  human  race.    It  must  be  admitted  that 

[176] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

the  times  are  portentous,  and  strange  side-lights  of 
history,  gleaming  athwart  the  pathway  of  men  as  the 
flickering  light  of  the  glow  worm  crushed  by  the 
density  of  the  drifting  fog,  are  suddenly  extinguished, 
serving  to  increase  the  darkness  that  envelops  the 
world,  and  to  obscure  the  waymarks  of  human  pro- 
gress, leaving  us  to  grope  our  way  thru  the  murky 
gloom  of  the  world's  night,  and  to  feel  our  way  back 
thru  a  labyrinth  of  false  and  failing  ideals,  to  the 
highway  of  truth  and  ''the  landmarks  of  the  fathers," 
from  whence  we  have  unconsciously  strayed.  This  is 
the  age's  crisis.  Sir  Robert  Peel  spoke  like  a  prophet 
of  old,  when,  in  1855  he  used  the  following  language : 
' '  Every  aspect  of  the  present  time  viewed  in  the  light 
of  the  past,  warrants  the  belief  that  we  are  on  the  eve 
of  a  universal  change."  Certainly  this  is  an  age  of 
the  world  when  nations  are  trembling  and  convulsed. 
A  mighty  influence,  uncanny  in  its  impressions  upon 
the  hearts  of  men,  is  abroad,  surging  and  heaving  the 
world  as  with  an  earthquake.  But  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
Tyng  in  this  connection  is  very  encouraging,  viz; 
"while  all  human  appearances  indicate  the  approach 
of  changes  more  important  than  any  man  has  ever 
seen  before,  God's  Word  lays  before  us  just  what  that 
change  is  to  be." 

''The   world  appears 
To  toll  the  death-bell  of  its  own 

decease : 
And  by  the  voice  of  its  elements 
To  preach  the  general  doom." 

[177] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

The  world  prospect  is  discouraging  to  those  per- 
sons who  are  imbued  with  the  idea  of  universal  peace 
which  they  have  confidently  expected  to  be  realized 
thru  the  mutual  interchange  of  international  court- 
esies and  the  recognition  of  brotherhood  for  all  men. 
But  great  thinkers  have  been  rudely  awakened,  thru 
the  clash  of  empires,  to  the  fact  that  pacifism  is  an 
Utopian  dream,  the  realization  of  which  must  be 
placed  in  the  far-future,  if  it  is  ever  accomplished 
thru  the  harmonious  adjustment  of  great  world  pow- 
ers, in  fraternal  relations  with  each  other.  The  world 
is  in  a  state  of  pandemonium.  It  is  rent  and  torn  by 
strife.  Peace  movements  in  the  past  have  aborted 
and  brought  forth  discord  and  death.  During  the 
previous  century  the  seeds  of  international  treachery 
was  sown  by  designing  leaders  of  different  nations,  in 
diplomatic  councils,  which  have  germinated  and  pro- 
duced a  harvest  of  national  hate,  international  dis- 
trust, political  malice,  commercial  greed,  assassination, 
anarchism,  war  and  carnage.  The  peace  of  Utrecht 
is  a  waning  memory  and  that  memorable  treaty  of 
1713,  giving  one  of  the  great  World  Powers  naval  and 
colonial  supremacy,  is  regarded  by  warring  nations  as 
being  merely,  "a  scrap  of  paper,"  which  has  proven 
to  be  the  prolific  source  of  the  world's  greatest  war. 
Shall  we  ignore  the  words  of  Jesus  in  this  connection, 
viz;  ''I  came  not  to  send  peace  on  ttie  earth,  but  a 
sword  ? "  It  is  clearly  demonstrated,  that  human  nat- 
ure, in  this  enlightened  twentieth  century,  is  as  cruel, 
remorseless,  grasping,  self-centered  and  carnal,  as  it 
[178] 


I 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

has  ever  been  in  previous  ages.  It  must  therefore  De 
changed  —  made  anew,  in  a  physical  sense,  before  a 
period  of  universal  and  lasting  peace  can  be  estab- 
lished in  the  world.  And  the  world  also  must  be 
changed,  because  it  was  transformed,  during  the  del- 
uge, to  conform  to  the  interests  and  conditions  of 
human  nature.  It  is  consonant  to  all  the  demands  of 
men,  regardless  of  their  different  states  of  life  and  be- 
ing, here  below.  Universal  peace  is  impossible  under 
the  present  material  conditions  of  the  world.  It  is 
not  a  suitable  place  for  the  residence  of  perfect  and 
glorified  persons,  hence  Enoch  and  Elijah,  —  Moses, 
after  his  resurrection,  and  Jesus,  with  all  those  who 
were  raised  when  He  died  on  Calvary,  left  it.  The 
poet,  Tennyson,  caught  a  vision  of  the  future  and  ex- 
pressed his  hope  in  the  following  lines : 

''Ring  out  old  shapes  of  foul  disease, 
Ring  out  the  narrowing  lust  of  gold; 
Ring  out  the  thousand  wars  of  old. 
Ring  in  the  thousand  years  of  peace! 

Ring    in    the   valiant    man    and    free. 
The   larger   heart,    the   kindlier   hand! 
Ring  out  the  darkness  of  the  land, 

Ring  in  the  Christ  that  is  to  be." 

Peter  says:  "Looking  for  and  hasting  unto  the 
coming  of  the  day  of  God,  wherein  the  heavens  bein^ 
on  fire  shall  be  dissolved  and  the  elements  shall  melt 
with  fervent  heat."  2  Pet.  3:12.  Thus  the  world  will 
be  changed  and  renewed  and  refined  by  fire,  before 
the  period  of  universal  peace  is  inaugurated.  The 
[179] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

matter  is  explained  in  the  thirteenth  verse,  viz ;  ' '  But 
according  to  His  promise  we  look  for  a  new  heavens 
and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness. ' '  It 
will  be  a  physical  and  visible  change,  not  an  intangible 
and  spiritual  one.  Old  things  will  pass  away  and  all 
things  will  become  new  and  Paradise  will  be  re-estab- 
lished in  the  earth.    Milton  says : 

**The  world  shall  bum  and  from  her 

ashes  spring 
New  heaven  and  earth  wherein   the 

just  shall  dwell; 
And  after  all  their  tribulations  long 
See  golden  days.'' 

James  Montgomery  dreamed  of  the  day  of  Mes- 
sianic triumph  and  wrote: 

*'If  God  hath  made  this  world  so 
fair, 
Where  sin  and  death  abound, 
How  beautiful  beyond  compare 
Will  Paradise  be  found." 

Traces  of  the  Messianic  hope  and  a  belief  in  the 
future  millennial  glory  of  the  world  is  found  in  the 
literature  of  all  past  nations,  but  the  origin  of  the  doc- 
trine seems  to  have  been  lost  in  the  remote  depths  of 
antiquity.  Bishop  Russell,  of  Scotland,  who  was  him- 
self an  Anti-Millenarian,  says:  ''With  respect  to  the 
Millennium  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  doctrine 
concerning  it  stretches  back  into  antiquity  so  remote 
and  obscure,  that  it  is  impossible  to  fix  its  origin. 
The  tradition  that  the  earth,  as  well  as  the  moral  ana 
[180] 


I 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

religious  state  of  its  inhabitants  were  to  undergo  a 
great  change  at  the  end  of  the  six-thousand  years,  has 
been  detected  in  the  writings  of  Pagans,  Jews  and 
Christians.  It  is  found  in  the  most  ancient  of  those 
commentaries  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  we  owe  to 
the  learning  of  the  Rabbinical  school;  and  although 
the  arguments  by  which  it  is  recommended  to  oui 
belief  will  not  make  a  deep  impression  upon  any  in- 
telligent reader,  this  will  nevertheless,  leave  no  room 
for  doubt  that  the  notion  of  the  millennium  preceded 
by  several  centuries,  the  introduction  of  the  Christian 
faith.  ''A  learned  Jewish  Rabbi,  Elias,  who  lived 
about  two  hundred  years  before  Christ,  taught  that 
the  world  would  be  two-thousand  years  void  of  law, 
two-thousand  years  under  law,  and  two-thousand  years 
under  Messiah.  He  limited  the  duration  of  the  world 
to  six-thousand  years,  and  held  that  in  the  seventh 
millennary,  'Hhe  earth  would  be  renewed  and  the 
righteous  dead  raised ;  that  these  should  not  again  be 
turned  to  dust,  and  that  the  just  then  alive,  should 
mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles:  so  that,  in  that  day, 
they  would  not  fear  tho  the  mountains  be  cast  into 
the  midst  of  the  sea. ' '  Rabbi  Elias  evidently  believed 
that  the  resurrection  of  the  righteous  dead  preceded 
the  Millennium.  David  Gregory,  a  learned  mathema- 
tician of  England,  who  died  in  1710,  when  discussing 
the  Millennium,  said:  "In  the  first  verse  of  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis,  the  Hebrew  letter  Aleph,  which 
in  the  Jewish  arithmetic  stands  for  a  thousand,  is  six 
times  found.  From  hence  the  ancient  Cabalists  con- 
[181] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

eluded  that  the  world  would  last  six-thousand  years. 
Because  God  also  was  six  days  about  the  creation, 
and  a  thousand  years  with  Him  are  but  as  one  day; 
therefore  after  six  days,  that  is,  six-thousand  years' 
duration  of  the  world,  there  shall  be  a  seventh  day, 
or  millennary  sabbath  of  rest."  This  early  belief  of 
the  Jews  was  found  in  the  Sibylline  Oracles,  rare  and 
ancient  writings,  that  have  come  down  to  us  in  the 
form  of  Greek  verses,  comprising  fourteen  books  in  all. 
They  were  written  by  various  authors,  embracing 
Heathen,  Jewish  and  Christian,  and  were  written  in 
different  ages;  some  being  written  before  Christ  and 
some  after  His  death  and  ascension.  It  is  also  found 
in  the  writings  of  Hesiod,  and  also  those  of  Darius 
Hystaspes,  the  old  king  of  the  Medes,  who  probably 
derived  it  from  the  Magi.  We  find  traces  of  it  in 
Hermes  Trismegistus,  among  the  Egyptians.  It  was 
adopted  by  the  early  Christian  fathers,  Clemens,  Tim- 
otheus  and  Theophilus,  Bishop  of  Antioch.  Theopom- 
pus,  who  lived  340  years  before  Christ,  relates  that  the 
Persian  Magi  taught  that  the  present  state  of  things 
would  continue  six-thousand  years,  after  which  Hades 
or  death  would  be  destroyed  and  men  would  live  hap- 
py. The  Chaldees,  according  to  Plutarch,  believed 
in  a  struggle  between  good  and  evil  for  six-thousand 
years,  "then  Hades  is  to  cease,  and  men  are  to  be 
happy,  neither  wanting  food  nor  making  shade." 
Zoroaster  taught  the  same.  Joseph  Mede  remarks: 
''The  divine  institution  of  a  sabbatical  or  seventh 
year's  solemnity  among  the  Jews  has  a  plain  tj^ical 
[  182  ] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

reference  to  the  seventh,  chiliad,  or  millennary  of  the 
world,  according  to  the  well-known  tradition  among 
the  Jewish  Doctors,  adopted  by  many  in  every  age  ot 
the  Christian  Church,  that  this  world  will  attain  to  its 
limit  at  the  end  of  six-thousand  years."  I  quote  the 
above  statement  from  Mede  simply  to  show  that  among 
the  Jews  the  doctrine  of  the  Millenium  was  commonly 
accepted  by  their  scholars,  and  that  many  of  the 
ceremonial  services  of  the  Jews  indicated,  typically,  a 
sabbatical  year  for  the  world.  But  let  it  not  be  for- 
gotten, that  the  chronology  of  the  world  is  inaccurate, 
because  the  Jewish  calendar  was  changed  by  Caesar. 
Then  the  world  has  lost  time  since  the  creation,  be- 
cause it  was  made  to  ''stand  still,"  in  order  to  enable 
Joshua  to  win  the  battle. 

The  shadow  was  miraculously  turned  back  fifteen 
degrees  in  the  dial  of  Ahaz,  to  confirm  Hezekiah  in 
the  promise  that  God  made  to  restore  him  to  health 
and  add  to  his  life  fifteen  years.  Therefore  it  is  clear 
to  my  mind,  that  the  seventh  year  or  millennial  period, 
as  indicated  by  the  sabbath  day  and  sabbatical  year  of 
Israel,  is  to  be  the  last  stage  of  existence  for  the  mat- 
erial universe,  —  the  last  day,  of  all  visible  things, 
and  when  it  has  reached  its  limit,  after  its  introduc- 
tion (and  none  but  God  can  know  when  that  will 
come),  the  world  will  pass  away,  and  nature  will 
cease  to  exist.  Then  we  cannot  know  when  the  Millen- 
nium will  come,  because  we  cannot  ascertain  when 
Jesus  will  return  to  the  world.  Both  events  are  sealed 
mysteries  of  God.  And  it  is  enough  for  us  to  know 
[183] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

that  both  are  future,  and  that  we  should  be  true  to 
Christ  in  all  of  our  ways,  and  faithful  in  the  dis- 
charge of  all  duties  and  obligations  to  our  fellow  mor- 
tals. Jesus  is  coming  again  to  "rule  the  nations  with 
a  rod  of  iron, ' '  but  to  establish  the  Kingdom  of  God  in 
triumph  and  joy  and  great  glory  in  the  world.  The 
subjects  of  that  Kingdom,  during  His  personal  reign 
in  the  world,  will  be  glorified  and  immortalized  men 
and  women,  who  have  been  redeemed  from  among  the 
peoples  of  every  race  under  the  sun.  Blessed  con- 
summation of  this  weary  and  sorrowful  world  !  Let 
us  give  it  welcome,  and  hail  its  approach,  and  wait  its 
coming,  more  than  they  that  watch  for  the  morning. 
We  weep  over  the  wrecks  of  the  world  and  lament  its 
heart-rending  tragedies ;  our  hearts  melt  with  fervent 
sympathy  for  broken  hearted  parents  whose  children 
are  swept  from  their  fellowship  and  the  bosom  of  the 
domestic  paradise  by  an  holocaust  of  sin ;  our  tears  of 
bitterness  fall  on  the  irresponsive  faces  of  our  beloved 
dead,  over  suffering  infancy  and  the  unconscious  clay 
of  sweet  innocents,  over  the  untimely  births  that  have 
never  seen  the  light,  or  have  just  looked  upon  it  and 
shut  their  eyes  for  a  season,  waiting  for  the  glorious 
light  of  the  resurrection  morning.  Our  souls  desire 
to  see  the  King  in  His  beauty.  The  voice  of  the 
Church  calls  for  Jesus  to  return  and  all  creatures  long 
to  be  renewed. 

*' These  eyes  shall  see  them  fall, 

Mountains  and  stars  and  skies; 
These  eyes  shall  see  them  all 

[184] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

Out  of  their  ashes  rise; 
These  lips  His  praises  shall  rehearse 
Whose  nod  restores  the  universe." 

Thus  we  understand  the  scriptures  to  teach,  and 
thus  do  we  believe.  And  so  taught  the  eminent  Steph- 
en Charnock,  and  also  the  brilliant  Thomas  Chalmers, 
who  wrote,  "The  object  of  the  administration  we  are 
under  is  to  extirpate  sin,  but  it  is  not  to  sweep  away 
materialism.  There  will  be  a  firm  earth  as  we  have  at 
present,  and  a  heaven  stretched  out  over  it  as  we  have 
at  present.  It  is  not  by  the  absence  of  these,  but  by 
the  absence  of  sin,  that  the  abodes  of  immortality  will 
be  characterized.  It  will  be  a  Paradise  of  sense,  but 
not  of  sensuality.  It  is  then  that  heaven  will  be  estab- 
lished upon  the  earth,  and  the  petition  of  our  Lord's 
prayer  be  fulfilled,  Thy  Kingdom  come."  The  idea 
of  a  millennial  reign  of  Christ  on  the  earth  is  not  a 
theory,  composed  of  cunningly  devised  fables.  For 
sixteen  hundred  years  of  the  world 's  history  it  was  the 
one  luminous  hope  of  the  Church.  For  more  than  three 
centuries  it  was  accepted  by  the  best  of  Christians 
and  the  brightest  scholars  of  the  Church  as  a  tradition 
apostolical,  and  as  such  it  was  delivered  by  many 
Fathers  of  the  second  and  third  centuries,  who  spoke 
of  it  as  a  tradition  of  our  Lord  and  His  apostles,  and 
all  of  the  ancients  who  lived  before  them.  They  fur- 
ther assure  us  that  the  question  of  the  personal  reign 
of  Christ  on  the  earth  was  the  orthodox  position  of  the 
Church,  and  they  strengthen  their  opinions  with  abun- 
dant quotations  from  the  scriptures.  It  was  received 
[  185  ] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

in  the  eastern  parts  of  the  Church  by  Papius,  in  Phry- 
gia  by  Justin,  in  Palestine  by  Irenaeus,  in  Gaul  by 
Nepos,  in  Egypt  by  ApoUinarius  and  Methodius ;  bui 
it  was  also  accepted  in  the  South  and  West,  by  Ter- 
tuUian,  in  Africa  by  Cyprian  and  Victorinus,  in  Ger- 
many by  Lactantius  and  Severus,  in  Italy  by  the  first 
Nicene  Council.  The  great  preachers  and  brilliant 
scholars  mentioned  above,  taught  the  doctrine  not  as 
scholars  only,  but  claimed  to  be  personal  witnesses  to 
the  fact,  that  they  received  it  as  a  tradition  from 
Christ  and  His  apostles,  and  which  was  taught  to 
them  by  the  elders,  the  disciples  of  Christ.  The  doc- 
trine of  a  spiritual  Millennium,  consisting  in  a  univer- 
sal triumph  of  the  gospel,  and  the  conversion  of  all 
nations  for  a  thousand  years  before  the  coming  of 
Christ,  is  a  novel  theory,  and  was  unknown  for  sixteen 
hundred  years  in  the  Church.  Dr.  Daniel  Whitby,  who 
was  born  in  Northamptonshire,  England,  in  1638,  is 
the  author  of  the  doctrine.  It  is  the  accepted  doctrine 
of  the  Koman  Catholic  Church  and  of  a  majority  of 
Protestants.  However,  the  tides  are  turning  in  favor 
of  the  pre-Millennial  theory,  and  many  able  Protestant 
scholars  and  eminent  laymen  of  all  denominations  are 
boldly  returning  to  the  scriptural  position,  and  from 
pulpit  and  platform,  in  private  and  public,  thru  the 
press  secular  and  religious,  are  advocating  it  earnestly 
with  the  most  appreciable  results.  Men  are  being 
turned  to  the  pathway  of  the  Word,  "and  they  are 
inquiring  after  the  old  paths,  that  they  may  walk 
therein."  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  prior  to  the 
[186] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Post- 
Millennial  theory  did  not  have  one  able  Avriter  or 
eminent  scholar  to  advocate  its  unreasonable  and  auda- 
cious claims.  If  antiquity  is  to  be  considered  as  hav- 
ing weight  in  the  establishment  of  a  question  of  reli- 
gion or  theology,  then  the  Pre-Millennial  doctrine  has 
all  the  argument  in  its  favor,  because  it  is  supported 
by  both  antiquity  and  the  plain  unequivocal  teachings 
of  the  scriptures.  It  is  not  to  be  denied,  that  the  gospel 
of  Christ  has  achieved  innumerable  victories  in  every 
age,  and  among  all  peoples,  wherever  and  whenever  it 
has  been  preached,  and  it  will  continue  to  be  the 
strongest  and  most  effective  civilizing  force,  and  the 
only  means  of  salvation  for  lost  men,  until 

'*the   sun   grows   cold, 
And  the  stars  are  old, 
And  the  leaves  of  the  judgment  book  unfold." 

But  Jesus  never  promised  to  Christianize  the 
world  or  bring  a  period  of  universal  peace  and  right- 
eousness thru  the  vanquishment  of  sin  and  the  over- 
throw of  Satan 's  kingdom  during  the  Gentile  Dispen- 
sation, aiid  He  said  that  He  would  come  at  the  close  of 
the  gospel  age  which  is  distinctively  evangelistic.  The 
world  will  be  evangelized  and  all  nations  shall  hear  ot 
the  Christ  of  God  and  all  who  repent  and  believe  shall 
be  saved ;  but  He  taught  the  truth  also  in  the  twenty- 
fifth  chapter  of  Mathew,  that  all  would  not  be  saved 
when  He  returned  to  the  world.  There  is  not  the 
remotest  hint  in  His  description  of  the  judgment  of 
[187] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

the  nations  that  all  races  will  be  Christianized  and 
spiritually  prepared  to  receive  Him  at  His  coming. 
He  teaches  the  reverse,  and  sets  His  seal  of  approval 
to  the  Pre-Millennial  theory,  in  His  deliverance  of  the 
parable  of  the  wise  and  foolish  virgins,  and  going  fur- 
ther, He  elaborates  His  position  with  a  description  of 
the  judgment  of  the  nations.  Was  the  ' '  evil  servant ' ' 
who  became  a  bestial,  cruel  and  brutal  over-lord,  and 
who  is  mentioned  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  Mathew  24 :42- 
51,  a  Christian?  Do  you  think  that  "God  is  slack 
concerning  His  promise,"  and  that  Jesus  will  remain 
over  the  time  appointed  for  His  return,  in  order  to 
betray  men  into  the  meshes  of  judgment  ?  But  Jesus 
said  this  "evil  servant"  thought  so,  and  said  in  his 
heart,  ^ '  My  Lord  delayeth  His  coming. ' '  He  certainly 
will  not  be  prepared  for  the  return  of  Jesus,  because  he 
does  not  entertain  the  proper  conception  of  Christ's 
reliability.  Then,  there  is  the  man  without  the  wed- 
ding garment,  mentioned  in  Mathew  22 :2-14,  and  the 
one  talent  man  mentioned  in  the  twenty-fifth  chapter. 
The  parables  do  not  favor  the  view  of  a  millennial 
conquest  of  the  nations  and  the  extension  of  universal 
peace  to  all  world-races.  But  there  is  one  point  of 
agreement  between  the  advocates  of  Pre-Millennialism 
and  those  persons  who  believe  in  a  spiritual  Millen- 
nium, viz;  both  accept  the  idea  that  there  is  to  be  a 
Millennium  and  that  it  will  last  a  long  period  of  time. 
The  word  Millennium  is  derived  from  the  latin,  mille, 
meaning  a  thousand.  The  Greek  for  a  thousand  is 
chilioi.  The  early  Christians  were  called  chiliasts. 
[188] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

Christians  of  all  the  world  and  of  every  name  and 
order  are  looking  for  Jesus  to  return,  and  none  are  so 
reckless  as  to  predict  the  time  when  He  will  return, 
except  false  prophets;  neither  is  any  so  daring  as  to 
assert  that  He  is  not  near  at  hand,  even  at  the  doors,  of 
the  world  that  He  made,  for  His  own  glory,  and  honor 
and  service.  And  all  of  us  are  praying  for  His  coming 
and  earnestly  beseeching  Him  to  keep  us  in  readiness 
for  that  great  event.  The  sentiments  of  Wesley  appeal 
to  our  hearts  with  great  force,  viz ; 

'*  Whatever  ills  the  world  befall, 
A  pledge  of  endless  good  we  call — 
A  sign  of  Jesus  near. ' ' 

The  Millennial  period  will  be  preceded  by  the 
resurrection  of  the  righteous  dead:  All  persons  who 
will  be  accorded  the  glorious  distinction  of  reigning 
with  Jesus  during  His  personal  rule  and  enthrone- 
ment in  the  world,  will  have  their  bodies,  but  they 
will  be  made  like  Jesus,  and  will  be  immortal,  death- 
less, unchangeable.  Hence  the  scriptures  teach  that 
there  will  be, 

A  Priority  of  Resurrection 

the  just  being  raised  a  thousand  years  in  advance  ot 
the  unrighteous  dead.  I  approach  the  discussion  of 
this  question  with  solemn  reverence,  feeling  that  I 
am  about  to  invade  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  hon- 
ored dead,  who  are  resting  from  their  tiresome  labors 
with  which  they  were  burdened  here  on  the  earth,  and 
[189] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

rejoicing  with  renewed  energy  and  enlargement  of 
hope,  in  the  Paradise  of  God.  The  doctrine  of  the 
''First  Resurrection"  is,  perhaps,  the  profoundesv 
mystery  of  the  future  coming  or  work  of  the  Son  of 
God.  Orthodox  Christians  of  all  creeds  and  denomina- 
tions accept  the  doctrine  of  a  literal  resurrection  of  all 
the  dead,  but  multitudes  of  God's  holy  saints  reject 
the  theory  of  a  prior  or  first  resurrection,  and  teach 
that  all  person's  will  be  raised  at  the  very  same  time, 
believer  and  disbeliever,  atheist  and  martyred  saint. 
The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  is  the  basic  principle 
of  Christianity,  and  it  is  so  essential  to  the  existence 
of  the  entire  Christian  system,  as  founded  by  Jesus 
Christ,  that  it  cannot  be  rejected  in  whole  or  in  part, 
without  doing  violence  to  the  very  genius  of  divine  life 
and  reflecting  discreditably  upon  the  veracity  of  the 
Son  of  God.  We  should  entertain  right  views  upon  all 
scripture  teachings.  All  believers  should  search  the 
scriptures  in  an  effort  to  ascertain  what  they  teach 
upon  all  questions  of  Church  doctrines,  desiring  to 
accept  and  practice  whatever  theory  they  find  in  them. 
But  one  can  hold  decidedly  wrong  opinions  about 
Christian  practice,  or  the  subject  of  Baptism,  or  of 
faith,  sanctification,  repentance  or  other  important 
Bible  doctrines,  and  still  have  an  experience  of  grace ; 
altho  it  is  the  duty  of  every  person  who  has  beeii 
redeemed  thru  the  blood  of  Christ,  to  be  scriptural  in 
belief  and  practice,  yet  one  cannot  be  saved  or  enjoy 
fellowship  with  God  and  disbelieve  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection.  Paul  says:  ''But  if  there  be  no  resur- 
[190] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

rection  of  the  dead,  then  is  not  Christ  risen:  And  if 
Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain  and 
your  faith  is  also  vain."  I  Cor.  15:13-14.  Issues  of 
life  and  death  hang  on  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrec- 
tion: accept  it  and  live,  —  reject  it  and  die.  The 
Heathen  sorrowed  over  his  dead  without  hope,  and  in 
despair  turned  away  from  the  charnel  house,  never  ex- 
pecting to  see  its  occupants  come  forth,  arrayed  with 
the  unsullied  glory  of  eternal  day.  Death  in  his 
thought  was  a  shattered  pillar,  —  a  broken  harp  with 
its  music  lost,  —  a  flower-bud  crushed  with  all  its 
fragrance  in  it.  But  not  so  to  the  Christian.  That 
which  seems  to  be  eternal  destruction  to  the  Heathen, 
is  the  gate-way  of  life  to  us.  It  is  by  dying  that  we  are 
made  to  live,  live  forever.  The  life  that  is  not  reached 
by  death,  is  but  half  secure.  The  life  that  lasts,  the 
life  that  is  truly  immortal  and  eternal,  is  only  obtained 
by  dying.  We  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  all  the 
dead,  and  the  change  of  all  the  living,  at  the  coming 
of  Jesus. 

"The  time  draws  on 
When  not  a  single  spot  of  burial  earth 
Whether  on  land,  or  in  the  spacious  sea, 
But  must  give  back  its  long  committed  dust 
Inviolate;  and  faithfully  shall  these 
Make  up  the  full  amount;  not  the  least  atom 
Embezzled  or  mislaid  of  the  whole  tale." 

We  are  so  much  concerned  about  the  properties 
of  a  glorified  body,  but  we  are  very  desirous  of  a  per- 
sonal uprising  from  the  grave;  however,  we  are  fur- 
[191] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

nished  some  reflections  of  a  glorified  form,  in  the  mir- 
aculous dealings  of  God  with  persons  in  different  ages 
and  under  widely  divergent  circumstances.  It  is  said 
the  ' '  just  shall  shine  like  the  sun ; "  so  shone  the  face 
of  Moses.  It  is  also  stated  ''that  they  shall  fly  upon 
the  wings  of  the  wind ; ' '  thus  was  Phillip  carried  from 
Gaza,  in  the  desert,  to  Azobus.  And  "our  corruption 
must  put  on  incorruption ' '  as  Paul  miraculously  shook 
off  the  serpent,  and  experienced  no  harm.  The  resur- 
rection hope  is  a  star,  whose  unfailing  splendor  pene- 
trates the  blackness  of  the  stormiest  night  that  evei 
passes  over  the  pathway  of  men,  and  it  lures  us  onward 
and  upward,  thru  the  gloom  and  in  the  flash  and  roar 
of  the  storm,  toward  the  land  of  the  "brighter  and 
more  perfect  day." 

* '  There 's  a  beautiful  region  above  the  skies, 
And  I  long  to  reach  its  shore 
For  I  know  I  shall  find  my  treasure  there, 
The  laughing  eyes  and  the  amber  hair 
Of  the  loved  one  gone  before." 

But  the  doctrine  of  a  prior  resurrection  is  not 
generally  accepted  by  those  persons  who  believe  in  the 
resurrection  teaching  as  a  fundamental  theory  of 
revelation;  nevertheless,  great  scholars  and  pious, 
worthy  Christians  of  all  ages  of  Christianity  have 
given  it  their  most  faithful  support  and  advocacy. 
But,  is  it  scriptural?  Does  the  Word  of  God  sustain 
the  theory  directly,  or  by  remote  and  variable  hint? 
To  the  Bible,  then,  let  us  go  for  light  on  this  very 
[192] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

important  and  complicated  subject.  "And  I  saw 
thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them,  and  judgment  was 
given  unto  them :  and  I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that  were 
beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of 
God,  and  which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast,  neither 
his  image,  neither  had  received  his  mark  upon  their 
foreheads,  or  in  their  hands;  and  they  lived  and 
reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years.  But  the  res<-  of 
the  dead  lived  not  again  until  a  thousand  years  were 
finished.  This  is  the  first  resurrection.  Blessed  and 
holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first  resurrection ;  on 
such  the  second  death  hath  no  power,  but  they  shall  be 
priests  of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  shall  reign  with  Him 
a  thousand  years.    Rev.  20 :4-6. 

And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before 
God;  and  the  books  were  opened;  and  another  book 
was  opened,  which  is  the  book  of  life;  and  the  dead 
were  judged  out  of  those  things  which  were  written  in 
the  books,  according  to  their  works."  Rev.  20:12.  The 
first  two  passages  quoted  above,  contain  six  distinct 
propositions,  viz;  a  first  resurrection,  a  Millennial 
reign  and  a  second  death ;  a  tribulation  period  for  the 
ungodly,  the  final  judgment  and  the  second  death  or 
eternal  destruction  in  Gehenna,  the  ''lake  that  burns 
with  fire  and  brimstone."  Many  able  commentators 
advance  the  theory  that  the  resurrection  mentioned 
in  the  above  texts  is  a  spiritual  resurrection  of  prin- 
ciples and  not  of  persons.  A  resurrection  or  restora- 
tion of  the  wonderful  patience,  heroism,  fearless  cour- 
[193] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

age,  Christian  steadfastness,  and  constant  devotion  of 
the  Martyrs.  According  to  this  theory,  the  above 
mentioned  principles  have  been  forgotten  and  buried 
in  a  time  of  careless  indifference,  and  they  will  be 
resurrected  during  the  spiritual  and  invisible  reign  of 
Christ,  which  is  still  future.  But  if  scripture  in  part 
of  its  revelations  of  truth,  has  a  literal  meaning  and 
should  be  so  interpreted  and  understood,  it  is  to  be 
applied  to  the  above  scriptures.  They  are  meaningless, 
if  not  literal.  They  are  sealed  mysteries,  whose  oracles 
have  put  the  revelation  of  God  beyond  the  comprehen- 
sion of  the  wisest  and  most  devout  scholar  on  the  earth, 
if  they  are  to  be  understood  as  referring  to  invisible 
and  spiritual  matters,  that  are  yet  lingering  in  the  dim 
distances  of  some  other  time  to  be.  Every  person  of 
ordinary  intelligence  will  conclude,  immediately  upon 
reading  the  above  passages,  that  a  future  and  a  literal 
uprising  of  the  dead  is  clearly  and  emphatically  stated 
by  the  inspired  John.  The  advocates  of  the  spiritual 
resurrection  for  the  saved  are  inconsistent  in  their 
opinions  about  the  resurrection  mentioned  in  the  text 
for  the  unsaved,  and  this  text  assures  us  that  th« 
'^resurrection  of  damnation  is  to  be  a  literal  one!" 
The  position  is  absurd.  If  one  is  spiritual,  the  other  in 
the  very  nature  of  the  case  is  bound  to  be  like  it,  or 
similar  at  least  to  it  in  kind,  because  both  operations 
involve  physical  personalities.  If  the  first  resurrection 
is  one  of  principles  and  spiritual,  the  other  one,  or  the 
resurrection    of    the    unsaved,    will    likewise    be    it 

[194] 


THE   MILLENNIUM 

resurrection  of  principles  of  some  sort,  and  will  also 
be  spiritual.  If  not,  why  not?  If  the  reign  of  Christ 
is  to  be  spiritual  and  invisible,  it  does  not  take  a 
long  stretch  of  the  imagination  for  me  to  believe 
that  the  second  death  or  destruction  of  the  finally 
impenitent  in  a  Devil's  hell,  will  be  spiritual  and  in- 
visible too.  The  leading  feature  of  the  above  theory 
to  my  mind,  is  its  i7ivisihility.  Mentally  speaking,  as 
a  scriptural  fact,  it  is  nil.  Logically,  there  cannot  be  a 
resurrection  of  principles,  because  they  cannot  be 
separated  from  the  subject  and  preserved  in  a  buried 
or  abandoned  form,  to  be  raised  at  some  future  time. 
Principles  can  be  rejected,  and  one  may  change  the 
course  of  life  and  introduce  new  principles;  never- 
theless the  old  principles  w^ill  live  in  some  other  per- 
sonality, and  never  be  destroyed.  Principle,  no  mat- 
ter what  you  call  it,  of  whatever  kind  or  quality,  is 
indestructible;  therefore  punishment  and  happiness 
will  become  eternal  in  the  experience  of  opposite 
characters.  Many  principles  of  human  life  are  very 
objectionable  to  Jehovah,  but  He  has  never  said  that 
they  will  be  destroyed  or  forcibly  taken  away  from 
evil  men.  He  teaches  the  reverse  of  that  proposition, 
and  passes  judgment  upon  men  and  banishes  them 
from  His  presence  for  entertaining  wrong  principles, 
tho  He  does  not  destroy  their  principles,  nor  deprive 
the  condemned  persons  of  the  right  to  hold  them  in 
possession  and  experience  forever.  God  puts  the  seal 
of  His  immortality  upon  wrong  of  every  kind,  when 

[195] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

He  passes  eternal  condemnation  upon  men,  and  eon- 
signs  them  to  an  unending  perdition.  Principles  can 
be  restored,  revived  and  re-established,  but  they  can- 
not be  resurrected,  except  in  an  oratorical  or  forensic 
sense.  And  no  part  of  man  is  subject  to  resurrection, 
except  the  body.  The  soul  is  subject  to  a  spiritual 
change  and  can  be  born  again.  The  spirit  of  man 
can  be  brought  under  the  brooding  inflluence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  changed  into  the  form  and  super- 
scription of  the  divine  image.  But  the  body  is  not  a 
vessel,  meet  for  a  re-birth.  It  must  die  and  return  to 
dust.  The  re-born  soul  can  never  die,  either  in  the 
sense  of  separation  or  of  annihilation,  because  it  has 
the  seed  of  eternal  holiness  in  it.  Therefore  it  is 
written:  '' Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not  com- 
mit sin ;  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him ;  and  he  cannot 
sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God."  But  the  body  can- 
not be  born  of  God.  Paul  says:  ''Now  this  I  say, 
brethren,  flesh  and  blood  doth  not  inherit  the  King- 
dom of  God;  neither  doth  corruption  inherit  incor- 
ruption. ' '  The  physical  structure  of  men  must  reach 
a  state  of  perfection  thru  a  change  in  the  physical 
nature  of  the  race  and  that  is  only  provided  thru 
the  resurrection  process.  Translation  of  the  living  at 
the  coming  of  Jesus  is  the  very  same  work  wrought 
on  an  occupied  body  as  that  which  is  performed  on 
an  unoccupied,  dead  and  buried  one.  Therefore  re- 
generation is  a  spiritual,  or  the  spiritual  change  for  the 
soul,  and  resurrection  is  the  only  change  for  the  body. 

[196] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

Now,  I  will  endeavor  to  prove  by  the  scriptures  that 
there  is  a  period  or  interval  of  a  thousand  years  be- 
tween the  resurrection  of  the  righteous  and  the  un- 
righteous dead.  However,  it  does  not  make  any 
particular  difference  as  to  the  length  of  time  that 
expires  between  the  two  events  because  ''one  day 
with  the  Lord  is  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand 
years  as  one  day."  The  glorified  saints  of  Jehovah 
will  not  be  affected  by  physical  laws  or  operations  as 
they  are  now,  neither  will  nature  have  its  latitudes 
and  eclipses  and  wandering  stars,  and  flaming  met- 
eors and  gorgeous  comets  and  storms,  as  at  the 
present  time ;  for  the  world  —  nature  —  will  be 
changed,  so  as  to  be  consonant  to  the  resurrected 
and  immortalized  natures  of  its  magnificent  inhab- 
itants. We  will  pass  from  the  realm  of  the  finite  in 
the  change  from  death  to  life,  and  nature  itself  will 
not  decay  nor  bring  forth  a  blasted  harvest,  nor  fail 
to  bear  a  perfect  fruitage,  during  the  first  resurrec- 
tion period.  Death  and  blight  and  moths  and  mil- 
dew will  be  unknown.  But  there  will  be  an  interval 
of  time,  and  the  scriptures  say  it  will  be  a  thousand 
years,  between  the  two  resurrections.  Jesus  empha- 
sized the  distinction  between  the  resurrection  of  the 
good  and  evil.  "Marvel  not  at  this:  for  the  hour  is 
coming,  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves  (both 
bad  and  good),  shall  hear  His  voice.  And  shall  come 
forth;  they  that  have  done  good  unto  the  resurrec- 
tion of  life ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the 

[197] 


CHRIST   TRIUMPHANT 

resurrection  of  damnation."  Jno.  5:28,29.  Jesus 
draws  a  line  of  demarkation  in  the  resurrection 
scene,  and  sharply  divides  the  two  classes  mentioned 
in  His  statements.  One  class  comes  forth  to  a 
^ ' resurrection  of  life/'  and  the  other  is  different,  being 
a  ^^resurrection  unto  damnation.'-  If  both  occur  at 
the  same  moment  of  time,  where  is  the  betterness  of 
the  first  resurrection,  that  was  believed  by  Abra- 
ham, and  shown  to  all  generations  of  mankind,  when 
he  refused  to  disbelieve  God,  and  keep  Isaac?  ''By 
faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  tried,  offered  up  Isaac ; 
and  he  that  had  received  the  promise  offered  up  his 
only  begotten  son,  Of  whom  it  was  said,  That  in  Isaac 
shall  thy  seed  be  called :  Accounting  that  God  was  able 
to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead;  from  whence 
also  he  received  him  in  a  figure."  Heb.  11:17-19. 
Abraham  believed  in  a  better  resurrection  and  was 
therefore  willing  for  God  to  have  Isaac,  the  heir  of 
promise;  for  he  expected  that  God  would  raise  him 
to  life  again  and  that  his  name  and  race  would  be 
perpetuated  thereby.  Thus  we  see  that  he  believed 
in  the  priority  of  resurrection.  In  the  same  chapter 
it  is  stated  that,  ''women  received  their  dead  raised 
to  life  again :  and  others  were  tortured,  not  accepting 
deliverance;  that  they  might  obtain  a  better  resur- 
rection." Verse  35.  They  certainly  believed  in  a 
"better  resurrection"  and  one  that  held  some  special 
honor  and  distinction  for  their  dead,  who  were  the 
subjects  under  consideration,  according  to  the  in- 

[198] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

spired  apostle,  and  they  preferred  to  let  their  loved 
ones  remain  in  the  dust  of  the  earth,  until  that  ''bet- 
ter resurrection,"  or  "the  resurrection  of  life"  per- 
iod should  arrive,  that  ''they  might  have  a  better 
resurrection."  Then  if  both  classes  are  raised  at  the 
same  time  and  under  the  same  conditions,  wherein 
will  the  resurrection  of  righteous  be  more  honorable, 
distinctively  glorious,  and  better  than  that  of  the 
other  class  ?  Luke  mentions  a  special  resurrection  in 
his  gospel.  "But  they  which  shall  be  accounted 
worthy  to  obtain  that  world,  and  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead,  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  mar- 
riage; Neither  can  they  die  any  more;  and  are  the 
children  of  God,  being  the  children  of  the  resurrec- 
tion." Lu.  20:35-36.  He  quotes  the  Saviour,  and 
gives  Him  full  credit  for  the  statement.  Jesus  spec- 
ially stresses  three  points  in  the  above  texts,  viz;  (a) 
there  is  some  ivorthiness  possessed  by  those  who  will 
have  part  in  it,  that  is  not  common  to  men;  (b)  per- 
sons raised  at  the  time  that  He  mentions  will  have 
the  special  distinction  of  being  the  "children  of  the 
resurrection,"  and  (c)  they  will  enter  a  deathless 
state,  and  will  "never  die  any  more."  The  unsaved 
will  be  raised  unto  eternal  death,  which  involves  pun- 
ishment for  their  sins,  and  hopeless  separation  from 
God.  They  enter  into  death  at  the  resurrection,  and 
begin  to  die  eternally.  They  are  also  raised  natural 
people,  having  their  carnal  appetites  and  propensi- 
ties to  sin,  tho  there  will  not  be  left  to  them  any 

[199] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

opportunity  for  the  gratification  of  their  sinful  de- 
sires. That  will  be  death  in  an  aggravated  form,  not 
to  say  anything  about  the  terrible  tortures  of  hell, 
into  which  they  will  be  thrust  at  the  time  of  their 
resurrection.  The  resurrection  of  the  righteous  will 
result  in  the  elimination  of  all  carnality,  depravity 
and  human  weakness.  They  will  be  deathless,  incor- 
ruptible and  glorious,  ''as  the  angels."  They  go  out 
of  mortal  death  into  an  immortal  state  of  happiness 
and  life,  while  the  unsaved  pass  thru  a  finite  and 
temporal,  into  an  infinite  and  eternal  death,  in  the 
process  of  resurrection.  Then  is  it  possible  to  con- 
ceive that  they  will  take  place  at  the  same  time? 
Paul  adds  his  testimony  to  the  superior  excellency  of 
the  knowledge  of  Jesus,  and  the  power  of  His  resur- 
rection. He  says:  ''Yea  doubtless,  and  I  count  all 
things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge 
of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord :  for  whom  I  have  suffered 
the  loss  of  all  things,  and  do  count  them  but  dung 
that  I  may  win  Christ,  And  be  found  in  Him,  not 
having  mine  own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law, 
but  that  which  is  thru  the  faith  of  Christ,  the  right- 
eousness which  is  of  God  by  faith :  That  I  may  know 
Him,  and  the  power  of  His  resurrection,  and  the 
fellowship  of  His  sufferings,  being  made  conformable 
to  His  death;  If  by  any  means  I  might  attain  unto 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  Phil.  3:8-11.  His 
language  is  peculiarly  difficult  of  interpretation  in 
harmony  with  the  commonly  accepted  orthodox  view 

[200] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

of  a  general  resurrection,  -anless  it  is  admitted  that 
he  believed  in  a  special  resurrection  for  the  saints. 
But  those  who  are  familiar  with  Paul's  writings  are 
aware  of  the  fact  that  he  believed  in  the  uprising  of 
all  the  dead.  He  had  been  falsely  accused  of  preach- 
ing heresy,  and  turning  the  people  against  Moses  and 
the  law,  and  perverting  the  hope  of  Israel  in  the 
past ;  and  when  making  his  defense,  he  used  the  fol- 
lowing words:  ''Men  and  brethren,  I  am  a  Pharisee, 
the  son  of  a  Pharisee :  of  the  hope  and  resurrection  of 
the  dead  I  am  in  question."  Acts  23  :6.  This  is  posi- 
tive proof  that  he  believed  in  a  resurrection  of  all  the 
dead,  a  belief  which  was  accepted  by  the  Pharisees 
and  rejected  by  the  Sadducees.  If  that  is  true,  then 
what  does  he  mean,  when  he  tells  the  Phillipians  that 
he  desires  to  know  Christ,  "and  the  power  of  His  re- 
surrection?" Was  Paul  unsaved  when  he  wrote 
those  words?  Was  he  not  the  very  chief  est  apostle, 
and  more  abundant  in  good  works  than  they  all  ?  He 
knew  that  he  would  be  raised  from  the  dead,  no 
matter  how  he  lived  in  this  world.  He  believed  that 
all  persons,  good  and  bad,  would  be  raised  from  the 
dead,  and  called  into  the  presence  of  God  for  judg- 
ment, and  he  taught  it  plainly  on  all  occasions. 
Hence,  he  must  have  referred  to  a  special  resurrec- 
tion for  those  who  knew  Christ  "and  the  power  of 
His  resurrection,"  being  made  "conformable  to  His 
death."  And  he  thus  explains  his  language  to  the 
Phillipians,  in  his  letter  to  the  Thessalonians.    "For 

[201] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

the  Lord  Himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a 
shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the 
trump  of  God :  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first : 
Then  we  which  are  alive  shall  be  caught  up  with 
them  in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air:  so 
shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord."  I  Thes.  4:16. 

Here  it  is  positively  asserted,  that  the  "dead  in 
Christ,"  not  out  of  Christ,  shall  "rise  first,"  coming 
out  of  their  graves  before  the  living  are  translated,  or 
the  unsaved  dead  are  disturbed  from  their  fateful 
slumbers  of  eternal  doom.  This  is  what  he  meant  in 
his  letter  to  the  Phillipians.  This  is  the  "better  re- 
surrection" of  the  ancient  mothers  in  Israel  and  the 
one  in  which  the  "power  of  Christ's  resurrection" 
will  be  demonstrated  and  that  Paul  so  earnestly 
sought.  Let  us  hear  Jesus,  in  this  connection,  on  the 
subject  again.  "But  when  thou  makest  a  feast,  call 
the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind :  And  thou 
shalt  be  blessed ;  for  they  cannot  recompense  thee : 
for  thou  shalt  be  recompensed  at  the  resurrection  of 
the  just."  Lu.  14:13-14.  If  this  passage  stood  alone, 
like  a  single  star  in  a  vacant  heaven,  I  would  not 
insist  upon  it  to  prove  a  special  resurrection  of  the 
saints,  coming  before  the  resurrection  of  the  lost 
dead ;  but,  surrounded  as  it  is,  in  the  horizon  of  revel- 
ation by  a  galaxy  of  luminous  promises,  I  am  forced 
to  conclude  that  Jesus  had  a  first  resurrection  in 
mind,  when  he  assured  the  disciples  that  if  they  fol- 
lowed His  instructions,  they  would  be  "recompensed 

[  202  ] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

at  the  resurrection  of  the  just,"  And  there  was  no 
need  for  Jesus  to  say  ''at  the  resurrection  of  the 
just,"  if  both  classes  rise  at  the  same  time.  He  could 
have  said,  ''at  the  resurrection,"  or  at  the  uprising 
of  all  the  dead,  which  would  have  covered  the 
ground.  But  He  makes  a  discrimination  in  favor  of 
a  resurrection  to  special  honor,  and  the  rewards  of 
service  for  the  saved,  that,  like  "Banquo's  ghost 
will  not  down;"  and  the  conclusion  is  irresistible 
that  He  had  reference  to  an  event  that  would  take 
place  prior  to  the  resurrection  of  the  impenitent 
dead  and  the  final  judgment  of  the  world.  The 
saints  are  to  judge  the  world,  and  they  must  there- 
fore be  installed  in  the  place  of  assize  and  endowed 
with  the  prerogative  of  judgment,  before  the  event 
takes  place.  In  conclusion,  let  us  briefly  consider  a 
passage,  previously  quoted  from  the  twentieth  chap- 
ter of  Revelation.  "Blessed  is  he  that  hath  part  in 
the  first  resurrection :  on  such  the  second  death  hath 
no  power,  but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of 
Christ,  and  shall  reign  with  Him  a  thousand  years." 
This  is  undoubtedly  a  resurrection  of  persons  and  not 
one  of  principles  or  spiritual  privileges.  It  is  pre- 
viously stated  in  the  fifth  verse,  that  "the  rest  of  the 
dead  lived  not  again  until  the  thousand  years  were 
finished.  This  is  the  first  resurrection."  According 
to  the  plain  statement  of  scripture,  the  visible  reign 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  introduction  of  the  Messianic 
age  of  universal  peace  in  the  world  will  not  occur 

[203] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

until  after  the  first  resurrection,  nor  will  Satan  be 
bound  until  after  that  mysterious  and  remarkable 
event.  There  can  never  be  a  reign  of  peace,  univer- 
sal righteousness  and  undisturbed  spiritual  happi- 
ness and  power  in  this  world  until  Satan  is  chained 
and  his  unhallowed  influence  eliminated  from  the 
world.  Tho  countless  millions  have  been  redeemed 
thru  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  from  among  all  races, 
and  in  every  age,  nevertheless  it  is  true  that  Satan 
has  effectively  hindered  the  advancement  of  Chris- 
tianity and  prevented  the  universal  establishment  of 
divine  ideals  in  this  world.  The  majority  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth,  at  the  present  time,  are  under 
the  influence  of  his  blighting  and  soul-withering  pow- 
er, and  there  has  never  been  an  era  of  the  world's 
history  when  that  terrible  fact  was  not  true.  Jesus 
said,  ''Enter  ye  in  at  the  straight  gate:  for  wide  is 
the  gate,  and  broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  de- 
struction and  many  there  be  which  go  in  thereat: 
Because  straight  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way, 
which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find 
it."  Math.  7 :13-14.  Thus  spake  the  son  of  God,  who 
has  all  wisdom,  and  understands  the  secrets  of  all 
human  hearts,  and  knows  and  provides  for  the  des- 
tiny and  termination  of  all  things,  from  and  before 
the  beginning.  The  following  lines  from  Euripides 
are  as  true  today  and  as  applicable  to  present  affairs 
as  they  were  to  the  time  in  which  they  were  uttered, 
viz; 

[204] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 

' '  Should  bright  'ning  hope,  to  cheer  the  troubled 
day, 
Pour  thru  the  gloom  a  transient  ray, 
Fate  comes  and  o'er  the  darken 'd  scene 
Spreads  the  deep  horrors  of  its  dreary  reign. ' ' 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  number  of 
earth's  inhabitants  is  computed  to  be  1,450,000,000  of 
whom  800,000,000  live  in  Asia,  320,000,000  in  Europe, 
210,000,000  in  Africa,  110,000,000  in  America  and 
10,000,000  in  the  islands  of  the  sea.  With  regard  to 
religion  they  are  classified  as  follows:  860,000,000 
are  Pagan,  comprising  600,000,000  Brahmans  and 
Buddhists ;  160,000,000  unclassified  Pagans ;  100,000, 
000  Parsees,  Confucianists,  Shintoists,  Jains  and 
other  smaller  Pagan  sects.  410,000,000  are  classed  as 
distinctively  Christians,  of  whom  225,000,000  are 
Roman  Catholics,  75,000,000  of  the  Greek  Church, 
and  110,000,000  Protestants.  172,000,000  Moham- 
medans and  8,000,000  Jews.  Unless  the  figures  lie, 
the  overwhelming  majority  of  mankind  is  under  the 
dominion  of  Satan,  and  inasmuch  as  we  have  had 
practically  two  thousand  years  of  gospel  evangeliza- 
tion, and  the  world  has  not  yet  been  conquered  and 
evil  suppressed,  can  we  therefore  reasonably  enter- 
tain the  idea  that  the  gospel  is  about  to  be  the  given 
right-of-way  to  all  the  nations  and  undisputed  sway 
and  world-wide  dominion,  and  that  it  is  to  rule  in 
the  hearts  and  affairs  of  all  men?  But  the  gospel  is 
a  glorious  success.  It  is  accomplishing  the  divine 
purpose  to  which  it  was  sent,  and  without  it  there 

[205] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

would  not  be  any  restraining  influence  in  this  world 
to  manacle  the  wrists  of  Satan's  power.  And  it  is 
marching  grandly  on  to  a  culmination  of  Satan's 
rule  and  power  in  the  earth,  and  in  the  not  distant 
future  the  Lord  Jesus  will  come  for  His  jewels,  and 
the  Kingdom  of  God  will  be  established  with  power 
and  great  glory,  and  endure  thru  a  period  of  a  thou- 
sand years  of  peace  and  revival  and  perfection  of 
service,  without  any  opposition  from  seen  or  unseen 
foes  of  the  Cross.  Then,  when  will  evil  cease  and 
wars  have  an  end?  When  will  Jesus  be  our  ruling, 
all-glorious  King?  When  will  the  dissonance  of  the 
universe  and  the  riotous  discord  of  ages  cease  ?  When 
will  the  nations  live  upon  the  basis  of  the  "Golden 
Rule,"  and  cease  to  learn  the  bloody  arts  of  war? 
War,  that  claimed  the  immortality  of  death  and  sin? 
When  will  come  the  time  that  Satan  and  his  cohorts 
will  weep  over  the  grave  of  their  most  effective 
confederate,  WAR!  Cruel,  remorseless  war,  the  scor- 
pion sting  of  nations,  the  scourge  of  the  widow,  and 
the  plague  of  the  orphan?  WHEN  SATAN  IS 
CHAINED !  No  peace  of  nations  and  individuals  in 
a  permanent  way,  while  he  is  loose  to  work  iniquity 
and  deception  in  the  world.  But  the  words  of  Long- 
fellow are  refreshing : 

''Down  the  dark  future,  thru  long  generations 

The  echoing  sounds  grow  fainter,  and  then  cease ; 
And  like  a  bell,  with  solemn,  sweet  vibrations, 
I  hear  once  more  the  voice  of  Christ  say  ''Peace" 

[206] 


THE    MILLENNIUM 


Peace!  and  no  longer  from  its  brazen  portals 
The  blast  of  war's  great  organ  shakes  the  skies! 

But  beautiful  as  the  songs  of  the  immortals, 
The  holy  melody  of  love  arise. ' ' 


[207] 


CHAPTER   X 

Christian  Ideal  as  Expressed  in 
a  Finished  Redemption 

''If  ail  our  hopes  and  all  our  fears 

Were  prisoned  in  life's  narrow  bound; 
If  travelers  thru  this  vale  of  tears, 

We  saw  no  better  world  bej^ond; 
Oh,  what  could  check  the  rising  sigh? 

What  earthly  thing  could  pleasure  give? 
Oh,  who  could  venture  then  to  die? 

Oh,  who  could  then  endure  to  live?" 

Sinless  perfection  is  undoubtedly  the  distinct 
Christian  ideal.  The  scriptures  teach  it  on  every 
page  of  the  inspired  word ;  but  if  the  writers  of  the 
Bible  intended  to  convey  the  idea  that  it  was  access- 
ible to  men  in  this  present  life  and  experience,  then 
it  is  true  that  Christianity  has  failed,  and  the  hope 
that  sustains  us  in  all  of  our  trials,  temptations  and 
soul-harrowing  experiences,  is  delusive  and  mis-lead- 
ing. There  is  a  sense  in  which  the  believer  is  sin- 
lessly  perfect  at  the  present  time,  viz ;  being  justified 
thru  faith  in  Christ  and  having  been  ''made  a  new 
creature  in  Christ  Jesus, ' '  we  are  therefore  not  under 
eternal  judgment,  because  we  are  covered,  so  to 
speak,  by  Jesus,  the  prototype  of  the  human  race, 
and  the  Christian's  personal  substitute  under  law. 
God  cannot  see  any  sin  in  us,  for  the  reason  that  He 

[208] 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

accepts  us  for  His  Son's  sake,  and  invariably  sees  us 
thru  Jesus,  our  perfect  Mediator.  But  we  sin  never- 
theless. God  sees  the  sin,  but  only  in  the  present 
sense  of  having  received  eternal  satisfaction  for  it, 
thru  the  atonement  that  was  made  by  Jesus  in  His 
death  and  sufferings  on  Calvary.  There  is  no  past 
or  future  with  the  Tribune  God  —  the  Holy  Three  in 
One.  The  Three  Persons  of  the  Trinity  live  in  the 
eternal  NOW !  And  tho  sin  enters  into  our  lives  and 
brings  its  terrible  curse  upon  all  our  ways,  it  is  also 
a  fact  that,  in  God's  mind,  it  has  been  eternally  can- 
celled, never  to  be  revived  in  judgment  against  us.  Our 
natures  having  previously  been  changed  and  the 
affections  of  the  heart  purified  and  centered  upon 
Jesus,  we  personally  pass  sentence  upon  our  sin  as  an 
unworthy  act,  hateful  to  God,  and  distressing  to  us, 
and  we  cry  out  against  it  in  sincere  contrition  and 
beseech  the  help  of  our  God,  in  an  effort  to  get  rid 
of  its  presence  and  memory.  "And  hereby  we  know 
that  we  are  of  the  truth,  and  shall  assure  our  hearts 
before  Him.  For  if  our  heart  condemn  us  (and  it 
does  when  we  sin),  God  is  greater  than  our  heart, 
and  knoweth  all  things."  Jno.  3:19-20. 

Sin  being  contrary  to  the  re-born  nature  of  the 
Christian,  it  no  sooner  enters  the  heart  and  begins  to 
demand  recognition,  than  it  is  rejected;  and  should 
it  be  given  audience  and  appear  in  the  life  as  an 
unholy  act,  it  will  be  condemned  with  bitter  peni- 

[209] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

tence.  Then  we  will  turn  away  from  the  vicious,  un- 
worthy, detestable  thing,  and  like  David  of  old,  who 
fell  under  the  witchery  of  a  beautiful  woman  and 
committed  an  act  of  lecherous  immorality,  we  will 
lift  our  wounded  hearts  to  God  in  fervent  prayer,  and 
exclaim:  "Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  0  God;  and 
renew  a  right  spirit  within  me."  Ps.  51:10.  And 
God  will  give  us  special  grace  and  cleansing,  restor- 
ing the  ''joy  of  salvation,"  reviving  the  heart,  and 
removing  the  agonizing  memory  of  sin,  because  He 
hates  sin  for  it  killed  His  Son.  A  young  man  re- 
turned home  from  college  in  one  of  the  southern  states 
to  spend  the  Christmas  Holidays  with  his  parent- 
He  was  an  only  son  in  the  home,  the  loving  pride  of 
his  mother  and  a  crowning  glory  to  his  aged  and 
highly  honored  father.  He  was  a  noble  Christian 
and  a  devout  believer  in  Jesus.  Christmas  morning 
he  told  his  mother  that  he  would  go  down  back  of 
the  orchard  in  search  of  Quail.  Shortly  after  he  had 
gone,  his  mother  heard  the  report  of  a  gun,  but 
thought  nothing  more  about  it,  until  the  noon  hour. 
She  became  uneasy  and  upon  telling  her  fears  to  the 
old  father,  they  began  a  search  for  the  belated  son, 
who  was  never  to  return  to  the  old  home  again  in 
life.  They  found  his  body,  stark  and  cold  in  death, 
and  from  that  time  the  mother  could  not  endure  the 
report  of  a  gun,  because  it  killed  her  son,  —  her  only 
s(y)i.  God,  the  Father,  hates  sin  for  the  same  reason, 
and  He  will  destroy  it,  and  remove  every  trace  of  it 

[210] 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

from  the  experiences  of  His  children  and  from  the 
domain  of  His  glorious  universe.  ' '  For  we  know  that 
the  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain 
together  until  now.  And  not  only  they,  but  ourselves 
also,  which  have  the  first  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  even 
we  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves,  waiting  for  the 
adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemption  of  our  bodies."  Ro. 
8 :22-23.  But,  until  Satan  is  banished  from  this 
world  and  the  curse  is  removed  from  the  visible 
creation,  the  inhabitants  of  this  low^er  sphere  of  life 
will  have  to  deal  with  sin  as  a  continual  menace  and 
indestructible  antagonism.  We  have  no  promise  that 
sin  will  ever  pass  from  the  life  of  the  w^orld,  nor 
cease  to  affect  the  destiny  of  nations  or  individuals, 
until  the  earth  is  made  new  and  the  physical  natures 
of  men  are  brought  thru  resurrection  into  harmony 
with  their  regenerated  natures  and  glorified. 

^'Nor  wilt  thou,  alas!  be  withheld  from  its  snares 
By  a  mother's  kind  counsel,  a  mother's  fond  prayers; 
Yet  fear  not,  the  God  whose  direction  we  crave 
Is  mighty  to  strengthen,  to  shield  and  to  save: 
And  His  hand  may  yet  lead  thee,  a  glorified  guest. 
To  the  home  of  thy  mother,  the  land  of  the  blest!" 

The  Doctrine   of   Apokatastasis   Restitution 

finds  abundant  verification  in  the  scriptures.  "The 
Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand, 
until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool.  The  Lord 
shall  send  the  rod  of  strength  out  of  Zion :  rule  thou 
in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies.  Thy  people  shall  be 
[211] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power,  in  the  beauties  of 
holiness  from  the  womb  of  the  morning:  thou  hast 
the  dew  of  thy  youth.  The  Lord  at  thy  right  hand 
shall  strike  thru  kings  in  the  day  of  His  wrath.  He 
shall  judge  among  the  Heathen,  He  shall  fill  the 
places  with  dead  bodies;  He  shall  wound  the  heads 
over  many  countries."  Ps.  110:1-6.  "For  He  hath 
put  all  things  under  His  feet.  But  when  He  sayeth 
all  things  are  put  under  Him,  it  is  manifest  that  He 
is  excepted,  which  did  put  all  things  under  Him. 
And  when  all  things  shall  be  subdued  unto  Him,  then 
shall  the  Son  also  Himself  be  subject  unto  Him  that 
put  all  things  under  Him  that  God  may  be  all  in  all." 
I  Cor.  15  :27-28.  Christ  Jesus  will  reign,  Mediatorily, 
at  the  "right  hand"  of  the  Father,  until  the  close  of 
the  present  age  of  world-wide  gospel  evangelization, 
which  is  being  done  thru  the  direction  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  substitute  of  Jesus  in  the  Church.  Then, 
in  connection  with  the  fulfillment  of  the  Gentile  Dis- 
pensation, the  Mediatorial  work  of  Christ  as  our 
great  High  Priest  in  heaven  will  be  finished,  and  He 
will  return  to  the  central  or  starry  heavens;  and 
taking  the  Church  (Zion)  into  His  presence,  He  will 
later  (as  it  has  previously  been  shown),  descend  to 
the  earth  and  "rule  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies," 
"strike  thru  kings  in  the  days  of  his  wrath,"  "judge 
among  the  Heathen,"  and  fill  the  valley  of  Megiddo 
and  all  the  earth  with  the  "dead  bodies"  of  the  Anti- 
Christian  hosts.    Simultaneously  with  the  accomplish- 

[212]  . 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

ment  of  the  Church 's  mission  in  the  world  and  ascen- 
sion to  the  descended  Lord,  the  calling  of  Israel  or 
rather  conversion  of  Jews,  who  have  been  preserved 
thru  the  period  of  Tribulation,  —  and  the  destruction 
of  Anti-Christ,  will  take  place.  ''For  I  would  not, 
brethren,  that  ye  should  be  ignorant  of  this  mystery, 
lest  ye  should  be  wise  in  your  conceits ;  that  blindness 
in  part  has  happened  to  Israel,  until  the  fulness  of 
the  Gentiles  be  come  in. ' '  Re.  II  :25.  Thus  out  of  the 
glorified  Gentile  Church  and  thru  it,  as  His  body  and 
over  it,  as  its  Head  and  Lord,  Jesus  will,  as  the 
"Mighty  God"  of  Isaiah's  prophecy  and  the  "Shiloh 
of  Judah, ' '  descend  to  the  earth  and  destroy  the  enem- 
ies of  God,  eliminate  sin  from  the  world,  redeem  the 
earth  from  the  curse  that  was  imposed  upon  it  thru  the 
disobedience  of  the  First  Adam,  restore  Paradise,  in- 
augurate the  triumphant  Kingdom  of  God,  re-establish 
the  throne  of  David  and  reign  over  the  Davidic  cove- 
nant subjects,  the  Abrahamic  heirs  of  promise  and 
glorified  members  of  the  Gentile  Church.  When  Christ 
comes  the  second  time,  the  Church  age  will  have 
ended,  and  the  Kingdom  age  will  be  introduced. 
Then  we  shall  witness  the  fulfillment  of  the  ''desires 
of  all  nations,"  as  indicated  in  the  model  prayer, 
viz ;  ' '  Thy  Kingdom  come,  Thy  will  be  done,  in  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven."  The  Jews  were  given  the  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  full  control  of  the  Church,  but  they 
rejected  Jesus,  and  lost  it,  and  also  the  administra- 
tion of  all  kingdom  life  in  the  world,  because  the 

[213] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

executive  authority  of  the  kingdom  was  transferred 
to  the  Church;  hence  the  "Gentiles  have  exercised 
authority  over  them,"  in  the  spiritual  and  gospel 
sphere  of  promise,  until  the  present  time.  If  the  Jew 
had  accepted  Christ  and  received  the  gospel,  Gentiles 
would  be  the  principal  culprits  in  the  death  of  Christ. 
I  understand  that  it  was  the  purpose  of  God  from 
the  beginning  of  human  history  and  countless  eons 
before,  to  redeem  men  thru  the  death  of  His  Son ;  and 
the  Jews  being  the  chosen  people  of  God,  Jesus  was 
sent  first  to  them  with  the  glad-tidings  of  salvation, 
and  they  were  given  the  refusal  of  God's  plan  of 
redemption.  If  they  had  received  Jesus  as  their 
King,  the  Roman  authorities  would  have  been  forced 
upon  their  own  initiative  to  have  made  away  with 
Christ,  as  it  would  have  appeared  to  them  to  be 
necessary  in  the  protection  of  the  Imperial  empire  of 
Caesar;  and  they  today  would  have  no  Church,  no 
promise,  no  hope  and  no  salvation.  But  God,  who 
appointed  His  Son  to  be  the  successor  of  David  and 
to  reign  on  his  throne  during  the  Messianic  age,  also 
raised  up  Jesus  to  be  the  light  of  the  Gentiles.  It 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  Gentiles  are  deeply  in- 
volved in  the  tragedy  of  Calvary.  Herod  had  it  in 
his  power  to  have  prevented  it  taking  place  at  the 
time  it  did  happen;  but  desiring  to  show  a  favor  to 
the  Jews,  who  were  clamoring  for  His  death,  he  per- 
mitted them  to  have  their  way  and  let  Jesus  die,  like 
a  malefactor  in  the  company  of  thieves,  while  he  fur- 

[214] 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

ther  granted  the  Jews  their  unholy  and  impious 
wishes  and  allowed  the  murderer,  Barabbas  to  live. 
Thus  it  is  clear  to  any  candid  person,  that  Pilate, 
as  the  representative  of  Caesar,  was  really  more 
deeply  responsible  for  the  death  of  Jesus  than  were 
the  Jews,  who  persistently  cried:  "Let  His  blood  be 
on  us  and  our  children,"  because  they  did  not  believe 
that  Jesus  was  their  Messiah,  and  their  opposition  to 
Him  therefore,  was  largely  due  to  their  ignorance 
and  wicked,  superstitious  stupidity.  But  evidently, 
Pilate  was  convinced  that  JiBsus  was  all  that  he 
claimed  to  be,  —  that  He  was  innocent  of  their 
charges,  and  he  acknowledged  Him  to  be  a  good  man 
and  guiltless,  assuring  the  Jews  that  he  ''found  no 
fault  in  Him;"  hence,  he  sinned  against  the  greater 
light  in  giving  his  consent  to  the  Crucifixion  of  Jesus. 
Peter  says :  ''The  God  of  Abraham,  and  of  Isaac,  and 
of  Jacob,  the  God  of  our  Fathers,  hath  glorified  His 
Son  Jesus ;  whom  ye  delivered  up  and  denied  Him  the 
presence  of  Pilate,  when  he  was  determined  to  let  Him 
go.  But  ye  denied  the  holy  One  and  the  Just,  and  de- 
sired a  murderer  to  be  granted  unto  you ;  and  killed  the 
Prince  of  life,  whom  God  hath  raised  from  the  dead ; 
whereof  we  are  witnesses.*** And  now,  brethren,  I  wot 
that  thru  ignorance  ye  did  it,  as  did  also  rulers. 
But  those  things  which  God  before  had  shewed  by  the 
mouth  of  all  His  prophets,  that  Christ  should  suffer, 
He  hath  fulfilled. ' '  Acts  3  :13-18.  The  death  of  Christ 
was  mutually  conspired  by  all  persons  that  were  in 

[215] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

any  way  concerned  in  it,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles. 
The  fact  is  plain  to  all  Bible  readers  that  God  incor- 
porated the  idea  of  universal  restitution  of  nature, 
and  all  creatures  that  were  included  in  the  pre-deter- 
mined  plan  of  redemption  that  was  to  be  established 
and  consummated  thru  Christ,  in 

The  Covenants  of  Promise  Made  to  Abraham 

''Now  the  Lord  had  said  unto  Abram,  Get  thee  out 
of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy 
father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show  thee: 
And  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will 
bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great ;  and  thou  shalt 
be  a  blessing :  And  I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee, 
and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee :  and  in  thee  shall  all 
families  of  the  earth  be  blessed. '^  Gen.  12:1-3. 

The  above  promise  awaits  fulfillment.  And 
there  is  no  divine  seer  among  us  who  is  wise  enough 
to  predict  the  time  in  the  future  ages  when  it  will 
be  literally  accomplished;  for  it  remains  a  hidden 
mystery  of  eternity  and  this  fact  all  humble,  tho 
great  and  learned  scholars  reverently  acknowledge. 
Pious  and  learned  men  in  the  scriptures  freely  admit 
that  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom  has  not  given  the 
blessing  of  ''faithful  Abraham"  to  all  races  of  the 
earth  yet,  in  the  sense  of  exhausting  the  divine  mean- 
ing of  the  promise,  viz;  "in  Abraham  shall  all  the 
families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  The  descendants 
of  Abraham  were  distinctively  the  heirs  of  promise ; 

[216] 


I 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

but  this  promise  was  also  extended  to  other  races  in 
its  gracious  provisions  of  salvation  thru  them.  In 
Abraham  all  ' 'families  of  the  earth"  were  to  become 
'Hhe  children  of  Abraham,"  tho  they  were  not 
*' Abraham's  seed;"  that  is,  Jews  or  Ishmaelites. 
The  language  of  the  covenant  makes  it  wholly  gra- 
cious, and  absolutely  unconditional.  The  Jews  had 
but  to  abide  in  their  own  land,  in  order  to  obtain 
every  blessing  indicated  indirectly,  or  that  was 
plainly  expressed  in  the  covenant ;  but  in  the  light  of 
changes  that  passed  in  Israel's  history,  it  is  very 
evident  that  God  intended  to  give  all  peoples  the 
advantage  of  its  merciful  provisions  of  redemption, 
and  divine  calling  thru  Jesus  "the  Seed  of  Abra- 
ham;" and  who  will  deny  that  Jehovah  had  the  gos- 
pel in  mind,  with  its  universal  extension  thru  all  ages 
and  to  all  races  of  people  the  world  over,  when  He 
made  the  covenant  with  Abraham.  I  cite  the  follow- 
ing fact  in  proof  of  the  foregone  statement,  viz;  in 
Egypt  the  Jews  lost  their  blessings  but  not  their 
covenant;  however,  the  dispensation  of  promise,  or 
grace,  was  sacrificed  by  them  when  they  accepted  the 
law  at  Sinai.  ''And  all  the  people  answered  to- 
gether, and  said.  All  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken  we 
will  do.  And  Moses  returned  the  words  of  the  people 
unto  the  Lord. "  Ex.  19  :8.  Israel  made  the  fatal  mis- 
take of  exchanging  grace  for  law.  But  let  it  be  kept 
in  mind  that  up  to  this  event  the  covenant  was  ex- 
clusively Israelitish ;  and  if  God  had  not  intended 

[217] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

that  the  seeming  tragedy  should  occur  in  the  destiny 
of  Israel  and  in  the  interest  of  Gentile  races,  why 
did  He  not  prevent  it?  The  law  did  not  abrogate 
or  nullify  the  promise  but  was  adopted  as  an  inter- 
mediary disciplinary  plan,  "until  the  Seed  should 
come  to  whom  the  promise  was  made."  "Where- 
fore then  serveth  the  law?  It  was  added  because  of 
transgressions,  till  the  Seed  should  come  (Jesus),  to 
whom  the  promise  was  made ;  and  it  was  ordained  by 
angels  in  the  hand  of  a  Mediator.  Now  a  Mediator 
is  not  a  Mediator  of  one,  but  God  is  one.  Is  the  law 
then  against  the  promises  of  God  ?  God  forbid :  for 
if  there  had  been  a  law  given  that  could  have  given 
life,  verily  righteousness  would  have  been  by  the 
law.  But  the  scripture  hath  concluded  all  under  sin, 
that  the  promise  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  might  be 
given  to  them  that  believe."  Gal.  3  :19-22.  Thus  the 
promise  included  Israel,  filling  the  interval  of  time 
between  the  revelation  of  the  covenant  and  its  terms 
mentioned  in  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Genesis,  and  tli© 
nineteenth  chapter  of  Exodus,  that  declares  the  fact 
of  Israel's  acceptance  of  the  law.  But  we  must  make 
the  correct  distinction  between  the  dispensation  and 
the  covenant,  the  former  being  a  method  of  testing, 
while  the  latter  is  unconditional  and  everlasting; 
hence,  only  the  dispensation  as  a  trial  or  testing  of 
Israel  ended  upon  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  not  the 
covenant  of  salvation  thru  the  grace  of  God,  that  was 
freely  bestowed  upon  all  penitent  believers  before, 

[218] 


I 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

and  since  the  death  of  Jesus.  The  law,  therefore,  as 
a  method  of  God's  dealing  with  man,  characterized 
the  dispensation  that  extended  from  Sinai  to  Cal- 
vary, and  which  ended  with  the  death  of  Jesus. 

Since  that  event,  the  promise  has  superseded 
the  law,  and  salvation  is  freely  offered  to  all  men, 
upon  the  terms  of  unmerited  grace  made  effective 
thru  the  atonement  of  the  blood  of  Jesus.  Therefore, 
the  promise  that  was  included  in  the  original  cove- 
nant of  Abraham  is  universally  extended  thru  the 
gospel  to  all  the  world,  and  different  races  of  people 
are  being  given  the  same  superior  covenant  relations 
with  God,  that  the  Jew  enjoyed  as  an  exclusive  bless- 
ing, prior  to  his  acceptance  of  law  as  a  life-guiding 
principle  at  Sinai;  and  thru  "repentance  toward 
God  and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, ' '  persons  of  every  race 
and  tribe  and  tongue  and  color  are  permitted  to  en- 
joy its  present  blessings  and  live  in  '4iope  of  the 
eternal  glory  of  God"  that  is  to  be  revealed  in  future 
ages.  And  they  will  be  included  as  subjects  of  the 
triumphant  Kingdom,  during  the  personal  and  visi- 
ble reign  of  Jesus  on  the  earth.  The  doctrine  of  Mil- 
lennium is  set  forth  by  the  prophets  as  being  the  per 
iod  of  the  world's  history  when  all  things  will  be 
restored  to  the  undisputed  authority  and  control  of 
the  Creator.  Jacob  spoke  of  Shiloh  (Christ),  and 
said:  "Unto  Him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people 
be,"  and  Moses  in  deuteronomy  32:21,  declared:  "I 
will  provoke  them  to  jealousy  with  those  who  are  not 

[219] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

a  people ;  I  will  provoke  them  to  anger  with  a  foolish 
nation. ' '  Truly  this  is  fulfilled  in  the  present  age,  in 
the  fact  that  the  gospel  line  has  fallen  at  the  feet  of 
all  nations,  and  its  Tvords  of  hope  and  redeeming 
truth  have  gone  to  the  end  of  the  world.  In  a 
moment  of  rapture  the  inspired  Psalmist  cried,  ^'AU 
the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  remember  and  turn  unto 
the  Lord:  and  all  the  kindreds  of  the  nations  shall 
worship  before  thee.  For  the  Kingdom  is  the  Lord's : 
and  He  is  the  governor  among  the  nations."  And 
again  the  same  writer  asserts:  "He  shall  dominion 
also  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  rivers  to  the  end 
of  the  earth."  The  above  terms  incorporate  the 
most  barbarous  and  uncivilized  tribes  of  the  earth, 
and  they  specially  mention  tribes  whose  boast  it  is 
that  they  were  never  conquered,  as  the  untamed 
rovers  of  the  wilderness,  who  mocked  the  power  and 
military  prowess  of  Imperial  Rome,  in  past  centuries. 
All  nations  bowed  before  the  scepter  of  the  conquer- 
ing "Mistress  of  the  Seven  Hills,"  but  the  triumph- 
ant legions  of  Rome  failed  to  subdue  Ishmael.  But 
Jesus  will  have  members  of  all  the  wild  tribes  and 
denizens  of  the  forests,  who  will  gladly  accept  Him 
as  their  King,  and  having  been  tamed,  "clothed  and 
in  their  right  minds, ' '  will  give  Him  effective  service. 
But  listen  to  Isaiah:  "It  shall  come  to  pass  in  the 
last  days,  that  the  mountains  of  the  Lord's  house 
shall  be  established  in  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  and 
shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills;  and  all  nations  shall 

[220] 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

flow  unto  it."  Ezekiel,  looking  tlirn  the  vista  of 
intervening  ages,  saw  the  establishment  of  the  King- 
dom of  God,  the  re-gathering  of  the  Jews  in  company 
with  redeemed  Gentiles,  the  consummation  of  the  re- 
demptive work  of  Jesus,  and  the  restoration  of  the 
world  to  its  pristine  glory,  and  he  spoke  of  it  as 
follows:  "For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold  I, 
even  I,  will  both  search  my  sheep,  and  seek  them  out. 
As  a  shepherd  seeketh  his  flock  in  the  day  that  he  is 
among  his  sheep  that  are  scattered;  so  will  I  seek 
out  my  sheep,  and  will  deliver  them  out  of  all  places 
where  they  have  been  scattered  in  the  cloudy  and 
dark  day." 

Now  let  Jeremiah  speak:  "They  shall  call  Jeru- 
salem the  throne  of  the  Lord;  and  all  the  nations 
shall  be  gathered  unto  it,  to  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to 
Jerusalem;  neither  shall  they  walk  any  more  after 
the  imagination  of  their  evil  heart."  The  prophet 
believed  in  an  age  that  was  still  future,  when  the 
inhabitants  of  the  world  would  universally  be  pure 
in  heart,  perfect  in  conduct,  living  upon  the  principle 
expressed  in  the  Golden  Rule  and  having  immortal- 
ized and  glorified  bodies.  The  people  he  saw  in  vis- 
ion of  that  far  distant  time,  were  human  beings, 
dwelling  in  resurrected  and  changed  bodies.  They 
did  not  have  flesh  and  blood  as  we  have,  tho  they 
have  had  physical  structures.  They  were  the  child- 
ren of  God  by  the  heavenly  birth  of  their  spiritual 
natures,  and  by  the  adoption  of  their  physical  nat- 

[221] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

ures  in  covenant  relations  with  Jesus  in  Kingdom 
life,  and  they  were  dwelling  in  bodies  that  had  been 
redeemed  from  the  dust  of  the  earth ;  hence  they  did 
not  ''learn  war  any  more,"  because  they  were  harm- 
less, undefiled,  holy  and  sinless.  There  was  no  evil 
of  any  sort  in  the  world.  The  shadow  of  the  curse 
had  passed  from  the  face  of  nature  that  shone  re- 
splendent in  the  effulgent  light  and  flashing  splendor 
of  redeemed  hosts.  Zephaniah  also  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  coming  Kingdom  and  warned  the  nations  of  its 
terrors  and  awful  judgments:  "The  Lord  will  be 
terrible  unto  them :  for  He  will  famish  all  the  gods  of 
the  earth;  and  men  shall  worship  Him,  every  one 
from  his  place,  even  all  the  isles  of  the  Heathen." 
The  Holy  Spirit  touched  the  mind  of  Zechariah  with 
the  wand  of  inspiration,  and  caused  him  to  see  spark- 
ling gleams  of  the  encrimsoned  glory  of  the  rising 
Messianic  age,  and  when  he  awoke  from  his  en- 
chanted dreams  about  eternal  things,  he  said:  "He 
shall  speak  peace  unto  the  Heathen,  and  His  dom- 
inion shall  be  from  sea  even  to  sea,  and  from  the 
rivers  even  to  the  end  of  the  earth."  "And  the 
Lord  shall  be  king  over  all  the  earth :  in  that  day 
there  shall  be  one  Lord,  and  His  name  one."  But  I 
must  forbear  to  quote  from  Daniel,  Habakuk,  Mal- 
achi  and  the  rest  of  the  prophets,  since  time  would 
fail  me  in  repeating  their  statements  about  this  im- 
portant subject,  for  they  all  mentioned  it. 

Peter,  using  for  a  pulpit  the  porch  of  the  temple 

[  222  ] 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

that  was  named  in  honor  of  Solomon,  said  to  the 
wondering  Jews:  ''Repent  ye  therefore,  and  be  con- 
verted, that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out,  when  the 
times  of  refreshing  shall  come  from  the  presence  of 
the  Lord ;  And  He  shall  send  Jesus  Christ,  which  be- 
fore was  preached  unto  you :  Whom  the  heaven  must 
receive  until  the  times  of  restitution  of  all  things, 
which  God  hath  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  holy 
prophets  since  the  world  began."  Acts  3:19-21.  Do 
not  confuse  the  biblical  doctrine  of  restitution  with 
the  fanciful  and  freakish  theory  of  Origen,  who 
taught  that  evil  of  every  kind  would  be  removed 
from  the  world,  and  also  from  eternity  and  that,  thru 
restoration  of  good  in  every  sphere  of  life,  evil  would 
pass  away.  He  therefore  taught  that  unrepentant 
souls  after  death  were  punished  (and  that  is  true) ; 
but  also,  that  they  were  instructed  by  spirits  who  are 
nearer  to  God  than  any  person  in  this  world,  and 
that  they  would  be  led  to  accept  Jesus,  and  be  saved 
after  death.  Origen  believed  that  the  Devil  and  all 
of  his  evil  demons  would  be  finally  restored  in  hum- 
ble obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  and  that  punish- 
ment and  sin  would  cease  to  exist.  Origen  believed 
in  universal  salvation  and  complete  restoration  of 
everything  that  was  contrary  to  the  will  of  God,  thru 
the  death  of  Jesus.  But  Peter  contradicts  the  posi- 
tion of  Origen,  and  identifies  the  subjects  of  the 
restitution  in  the  future  age,  as  having  been  persons 
who  repented  and  turned  from  sin  in  this  present 

[223] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

world.  Paul  fully  corroborates  him  and  shows  that 
repentance  is  connected  with  the  future  judgment  of 
the  world,  and  that  it  qualifies  us  to  participate  in 
that  day  of  restitution.  "And  the  times  of  this 
ignorance  God  winked  at;  but  now  commandeth  all 
men  everywhere  to  repent:  Because  He  has  ap- 
pointed a  day,  in  the  which  He  will  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  He  hath 
ordained;  whereof  He  hath  given  assurance  to  all 
men,  in  that  He  hath  raised  Him  from  the  dead." 
Acts  17 :30-31.  Repentance  must  take  place  in  the 
experiences  of  persons  in  this  life,  and  they  must  be 
made  "new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus,"  or  else  they 
are  subjects  of  judgment  and  will  be  eternally  and 
hopelessly  doomed,  if  they  enter  it  in  an  impenitent 
state.  The  judgment  of  the  final  day  will  involve 
Satan  and  the  demons,  the  impenitent  dead  who  died 
without  Christ  and  hope,  and  the  unrepentant  per- 
sons who  will  be  living  when  it  occurs.  And  it  will 
not  reverse  anything  that  has  previously  taken  place 
in  the  lives  of  those  who  will  be  subject  to  its  terrible 
assize.  It  will  confirm  the  wicked  in  eternal  demerit. 
Their  choice  that  was  voluntarily  made  in  this  life 
will  be  condemned  and  punished,  —  not  reversed. 
Let  it  further  be  borne  in  mind  that  if  there  was  any 
scripture  that,  indirectly,  taught  the  possibility  of  a 
benevolent  change  in  the  condition  of  the  lost,  dur- 
ing the  trial  of  judgment,  it  would  be  too  late  for 
such  persons  or  for  reformed  fallen  angels  to  have 

[224] 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

any  part  in  the  restored  universe,  because  it  takes 
place  at  the  close  of  the  Messianic  age,  and  just  be- 
fore the  destruction  of  the  material  world.  But 
Jesus  forever  settles  the  question  of  the  eternity  of 
evil  and  the  unending  moral  condemnation  and  the 
judgment  of  sinners  and  fallen  angels.  ''Wherefore 
I  say  unto  you,  All  manner  of  sin  and  blasphemy 
shall  be  forgiven  unto  men:  but  the  blasphemy 
against  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  not  be  forgiven  unto 
men.  And  whosoever  speaketh  a  word  against  the 
Son  of  man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him :  but  whosoever 
speaketh  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  for- 
given him  in  this  world  neither  in  the  world  to 
come."  Math.  12:31-32.  The  Devil  is  the  original 
sinner  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  impious  act 
was  committed  in  heaven.  He  was  then  an  Arch- 
angel and  endowed  with  great  authority  and  power, 
but  having  fallen  in  love  with  his  beautiful  form,  he 
endeavored  to  imitate  the  Son  of  God,  in  whom  was 
vested  regal  power  and  undelegated  authority,  as  the 
divine  Logus ;  and  failing  in  the  accomplishment  of  his 
purpose,  or  desire  to  equal  God,  he  was  lifted  up  with 
pride,  and  was  driven  from  the  presence  of  his  Creator, 
under  the  irrevocable  judgment  of  blasphemy  against 
the  Holy  Ghost.  He  spoke  against  the  Son  of  God  in 
heaven  and  could  not  be  forgiven.  Hence  blasphemy 
was  the  sin  of  The  Devil,  or  Satan,  and  it  is  the 
unpardonable  sin  of  demons  at  the  present  time.  A 
word  spoken  against  the  son  of  man  is  pardonable,  but 

[225] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

a  slanderous  or  blasphemous  charge  against  the  Son 
of  God  is  not  forgivable.  Jesus,  as  the  Son  of  God, 
will  finish  the  Mediatorial  work  of  the  Kingdom  be- 
fore He  takes  the  throne  of  judgment,  mentioned  in 
the  twentieth  chapter  of  Revelation.  The  unpardon- 
able sin  according  to  His  definition,  is  ascribing  to 
Satan  the  works  of  the  Spirit.  The  Devil  does  not 
have  any  authority  to  work  miracles,  altho  he  has 
presumed  to  exercise  his  fiendish  power  in  that  way, 
in  the  past,  and  will  do  so  again  in  the  future.  Rev. 
13:13-14,  et  al.  God  as  God  only  has  the  right  to 
work  miracles,  or  those  persons  to  whom  He  may 
give  the  power  to  perform  the  wonder  work,  but  God 
invariably  does  all  those  things  thru  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Hence,  when  the  Pharisees  charged  that  Jesus  cast 
out  a  demon  thru  ''Beelzebub  the  prince  of  the  dev- 
ils," they  became  guilty  of  an  irrevocable  and  unfor- 
givable tresspass;  and  to  make  the  matter  convinc- 
ingly plain  to  them  Jesus  addressed  them  in  language 
with  which  they  were  familiar,  and  said,"  You  can- 
not be  forgiven  in  this  world  nor  that  which  is  to 
come."  The  Jews  believed  that  when  Messiah  came, 
the  world  would  be  restored  and  all  sin  would  be 
removed,  and  that  members  of  their  race  who  died 
without  hope,  would  be  restored  to  fellowship  with 
God,  in  accordance,  as  they  thought,  with  the  terms 
of  the  Abrahamic  Covenant.  But  Jesus  blasted  their 
hopes,  and  sent  them  cringing  under  the  searching 
power  of  words  of  truth,  away  from  His  benign  pres- 

[226] 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

ence  and  love,  and  to  descend  deeper  into  the  gather- 
ing shadows  of  eternal  judgment.  Jesus  says  that 
they  cannot  ever  be  forgiven,  neither  the  Devil  who 
deceived  them;  therefore  they  certainly  will  not  be 
restored,  and  the  "restitution  of  all  things"  that 
will  be  made  by  Jesus,  when  He  returns,  will  be 
wrought  without  them.  They  could  not  be  forgiven 
here  and  He  will  ''come  the  second  time  without  sin 
unto  salvation, ' '  and  will  not  forgive  or  save  any  one 
during  the  Millennium.  All  subjects  of  that  reign 
must  obtain  peace  and  pardon  during  their  life-time 
in  this  world,  while  they  are  in  the  flesh,  or  they  can 
never  be  forgiven ;  because,  in  death,  the  natural  or 
unregenerated  soul  becomes  eternally  identified  with 
the  corrupt  body  from  which  it  is  separated  and  must 
be  distinguished  as  a  flesh  or  carnal  being,  that  like 
the  body  that  it  occupied  in  this  world  "cannot 
inherit  (be  born  into)  the  kingdom  of  God."  Ge- 
henna, or  the  place  of  everlasting  punishment, 
is  under  the  damning  and  accursed  power  of  blas- 
phemy, because  it  was  "prepared  for  the  Devil  and 
his  angels,"  and  any  member  of  the  human  race  that 
enters  it,  can  never  be  recovered  from  its  ruin  and 
misery.  If  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
accessible  to  men  at  the  present  time,  Satan  would 
induce  many  to  commit  it,  and  pass  under  the  wrath 
of  God,  and  be  forced  to  live  out  their  days  here, 
without  the  hope  of  salvation,  or  the  least  possibility 
of  forgiveness.     But  the  damning  sin  of  the  Gentile 

[227] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

Dispensation  is  disbelief,  the  blasphemy  or  sin 
against  the  Holy  Ghost  not  being  accessible  to  dis- 
believers in  this  age,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  com- 
mitted in  connection  with  the  performance  of  a  mir- 
acle, and  since  the  power  to  work  miracles  has  lapsed 
in  the  Church,  the  unpardonable  sin  has  been  placed 
out  of  reach  of  modern  sinners,  and  it  is  safe  to  assert 
therefore,  that  it  has  not  been  committed  by  any 
class  of  disbelievers  since  apostolic  times.  But  they 
who  die  in  disbelief  pass  under  its  judgment  when 
they  enter  the  abyss,  or  prison,  where  the  ante-diluv- 
ians,  fallen  angels  and  the  lost  of  all  ages  are  await- 
ing the  "judgment  of  the  great  day,"  which  will 
take  place  at  the  close  of  the  Messianic  age.  Re- 
demption, therefore,  is  personal  and  parallels  salva- 
tion, and  it  is  strikingly  similar  to  it  in  nature  and 
results.  It  is  an  all-inclusive  word,  descriptive  of 
God's  method  of  bringing  the  bodies  of  saved  per- 
sons into  unity  and  perfect  harmony  with  their  puri- 
fied soul  natures.  Redemption  could  not  work  a 
spiritual  change  in  the  natures  of  human  beings,  as 
is  done  in  regeneration,  tho  none  but  prospectively 
redeemed  persons  can  "be  born  from  above,"  for  the 
reason  that  it  incorporates  in  its  sphere  of  operation 
the  adoption  of  the  body  which  cannot  be  born  of 
God.  Salvation,  then,  precedes  redemption  in  human 
experience,  and  we  begin  to  enjoy  everlasting  life  on 
occasions,  being  "filled  with  joy  that  is  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory,"  precious  foretastes  of  redemption 

[228] 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

rapture.  The  New  testament  records  the  fulfillment 
of  Old  Testament  types,  and  prophecies  of  redemp- 
tion thru  the  sacrifice  of  Christ.  Three  words  are 
used  by  inspired  writers  to  set  forth  the  meaning  of 
redemption;  however,  the  word  primarily  means  "to 
deliver  by  paying  a  price."  Agorazo,  "to  purchase 
in  the  market."  The  underlying  thought  is  that  of  a 
slave-market,  where  human  beings  were  bought  and 
exchanged  as  chattel  property.  Exagerazo,  "to  buy 
out  of  the  market."  The  redeemed  are  to  be  free 
forever  and  never  re-sold  into  slavery.  Lutroo,  "to 
loose,"  "set  free  by  paying  a  price."  Redemption  is 
by  sacrifice,  and  by  power ;  Christ  paid  the  price  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  by  His  regenerating  power,  makes  it 
real  in  our  experience.  And  thru  His  re-vivifying 
and  quickening  power  He  will  make  the  life  and 
power  of  our  resurrected  bodies.  "But  if  the  Spirit 
of  Him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell  in 
you.  He  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also 
quicken  your  mortal  bodies  by  His  Spirit  that  dwel- 
leth  in  you."  Ro.  8  :11.  Redemption  would  be  incom- 
plete without  adoption  and  salvation  would  be  un- 
finished without  redemption.  Salvation  is  only  ex- 
tended to  the  physical  side  of  human  nature,  thru 
redemption  and  adoption.  Salvation  is  achieved 
when  one  is  regenerated,  and  it  cannot  be  lost  nor 
forfeited,  because  Jesus  died  to  redeem  the  body 
from  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and  to  ratify  His  Father's 
elective  agency,  that  was  involved  in  the  adoption  of 

[229] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

the  body  into  the  family  of  God.  The  body  is  an 
orphan,  without  father  or  mother.  It  descended 
from  an  original  federal  head,  who  lost  his  relation- 
ship with  God,  and  his  standing  as  an  upright  being 
before  Him.  Our  bodies  are  received  from  him  in  an 
alienated  and  degenerate  condition.  God,  therefore 
provided  adoption  for  the  body,  before  it  is  occupied 
by  a  regenerated  or  re-born  soul.  The  orphan  that  is 
adopted  into  the  family  cannot  be  disinherited  in  any 
court  of  law,  the  child  born  in  the  home  may  be 
legally  rejected  as  heir,  and  turned  away  with  a 
mere  pittance  or  in  a  penniless  condition.  God 
could  disinherit  the  soul  that  is  born  of  Him  and 
have  legal  sanction  for  it,  because  He  deals  with  it 
upon  the  exclusive  basis  of  grace ;  yet  He  is  too  good 
so  to  disinherit  it.  But  He  would  have  to  contravene 
His  own  law  in  order  to  disinherit  the  body  of  adop- 
tion, for  He  accepted  it  as  an  orphan  outcast,  friend- 
less and  victimized  by  a  wicked  and  carnal  soul  that 
dwelt  in  it,  and  forced  it  to  submit  to  its  despotic 
control.  The  body  will  be  made  perfect  thru  the 
quickening  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  all  traces 
of  sin  and  disease  and  death  will  be  removed  from  it 
—  the  finite  becoming  infinite  —  the  mortal,  im- 
mortal ;  and  death  shall  be  swallowed  up  in  victory, 
and  the  whole  creation  of  God  will  be  brought  under 
the  blessing  of  bodily  and  physical  perfection,  being 
delivered  from  the  curse  of  death  and  suffering  that 
was  imposed  upon  it  as  a  consequence  of  Adam's  sin. 

[230] 


CHRISTIAN   IDEAL 

Paul  says:  "For  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  the 
present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with 
the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us.  For  the  earn- 
est expectation  of  the  creature  waiteth  for  the  mani- 
festation of  the  sons  of  God."  Because  the  creature 
itself  also  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of 
corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of 
God."  Ro.  8:18-21. 

''Look  up,  0  earth!  no  storm  can  last 

Beyond  the  Hmits  God  hath  set, 
When  its  appointed  work  is  past, 

In  joy  thou  shalt  thy  grief  forget. 
Where  sorrow 's  plowshare  hath  swept  thru. 

Thy  fairest  flowers  of  life  shall  spring. 
For  God  shall  grant  thee  life  anew. 

And  all  thy  wastes  shall  laugh  and  sing. 
Hope  thou  in  Him;  His  plan  for  thee 

Shall  end  in  triumph  and  release. 
Fear  not,  for  thou  shalt  surely  see 

His  afterward  of  peace." 


231  J 


CHAPTER   XI 

Heaven 

Heaven  represents  the  highest  point  attained  by 
transfigured  thought  —  the  farthest  reach  of  in- 
spired imagination.  Finite  man,  unaided  by  the  om- 
nipotent God,  could  have  never  devised  a  sj^stem  of 
religion  that  embraced  within  its  sublimest  scope 
such  a  place  of  bliss  and  joy  and  glory  as  the  scrip- 
tures declare  heaven  to  be.  It  is  unthinkably  gorg- 
eous, grand  and  magnificent.  Mortality  is  environed 
by  darkness,  cursed  by  sin,  and  dwells  continually 
under  judgments  of  misery  and  misfortune  and  woe. 
Happiness  ebbs  and  flows,  feelings  vacillate.  The 
festival  of  spiritual  joy  is  often  marred  by  sadness 
and  draped  in  shadows  of  mourning.  When  life 
flows  like  a  pure  river  of  water,  clear  in  the  reflection 
of  innocence,  rippling  in  the  laughter  of  jo}^,  kissed 
by  the  golden  dawn  of  eternal  day,  and  thoughts  of 
Jesus  and  heaven  thrill  the  soul  with  unstayed  de- 
light, and  the  mind  is  so  possessed  in  the  grip  of  His 
Spirit  that  we  are  exalted  in  His  power  and  trans- 
figured in  His  presence  —  the  tempter  obtrudes  his 
unwelcome  presence,  casting  his  upas  shadow  o'er 
the  eden  of  hope,  and  hurling  his  poisoned  dart  of 
deception,  strikes  unerringly  the  joint  of  our  har- 
ness, bringing  a  sudden  termination  to  our  carnival 

[232] 


HEAVEN 

of  pleasure,  so  that  with  wounded  hearts  and 
bruised  souls  we  turn  in  penitence,  seeking  wearily 
the  fountain  of  cleansing  opened  on  Calvary  for  lost 
souls,  and  lave  our  soiled  spirits  from  every  stain  of 
guilt  and  sin.  We  have  here  no  continuing  state  of 
guiltless  love.  Sin  is  a  black  spot  in  all  our  feasts  of 
rejoicing,  and  it  occurs  oftentimes  that  the  radiant 
light  of  hope  that  pours  its  effulgent  luster  upon  our 
stony  pathway,  proves  to  be  a  wandering  star  of 
sentimentalism,  to  whom  the  mist  of  doubt  and  the 
darkness  of  despair  are  reserved  forever.  We  come 
to  our  texts:  ''In  my  Father's  house  are  many  man- 
sions: if  it  were  not  so  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go 
to  prepare  a  place  for  you."  "And  if  I  go  and  pre- 
pare a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again  and  receive 
you  unto  myself  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be 
also." 

Intermediate  State  of  the  Dead 

Heaven,  as  an  experience,  begins  in  this  life. 
Kegeneration,  spiritual  transformation,  is  the  proli- 
fic spring  of  Christian  hope  and  life.  God  brings 
heaven  to  us  in  a  personal  experience  of  it,  before 
He  brings  us  to  heaven.  This  is  evidently  what  Jesus 
meant,  when  he  spoke  to  Nicodemus  about  the  new 
birth,  telling  him  that  he  ' '  must  be  born  again, ' '  and 
''except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit  he 
cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  Unborn  men  have 
no  innate  power  to  receive  the  kingdom,  nor  to  enter 

[233] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

into  fellowship  and  communion  with  its  holy  nature 
and  mysterious  redeeming  power.  It  is  to  the  nat- 
ural man  foolishness,  an  unsolved  puzzle,  and  he  can- 
not see  it  in  the  sense  of  comprehending  its  spiritual 
meaning  in  the  higher  life.  Hence  the  only  subjects 
recognized  as  being  worthy  to  obtain  membership  in 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  are  ' 'twice  born"  men.  Re- 
generation is  the  only  divine  method  of  salvation, 
and  God  communicates  a  knowledge  of  himself  thru 
this  process  of  spiritual  change,  transplanting  the 
soul  from  a  state  of  nature  to  one  of  grace  and  holi- 
ness. Hence  this  divine  w^ork  in  the  heart  brings  to 
us  an  immortal  hope  that  penetrates  the  veil  of  mys- 
tery, that  envelopes  us,  entering  the  shining  gates  of 
glor}^,  being  lost  in  billows  of  light  and  refulgent 
hope  that,  rising  in  floodtides  at  the  throne  of  Jeho- 
vah, burst  in  resplendent  spray  over  the  vast  realm 
of  eternity.  It  is  needless  for  me  to  say  that  it  is 
invariably  accompanied  by  an  inexpressible  joy. 

However,  the  rapture  of  it  does  not  always  en- 
dure, but  the  knowledge  of  it  permanently  abides. 
Salvation,  therefore,  is  just  as  enduring  as  the  soul 
itself.  If  the  soul  perished  in  death,  being  annihi- 
lated, salvation  would  cease  to  exist.  Consequently, 
it  could  never  be  restored  (Heb.  6:6),  because  it  is 
secured  in  this  life  thru  one  sacrifice  —  one  divine 
oblation;  and  should  it  fall  here,  we  could  have  no 
hope  of  future  deliverance  from  sin,  nor  of  our  glor- 
ious uprising  from  the  dead  hereafter.     Salvation  is 

[234] 


HEAVEN 

eternal  life,  possessing  the  present,  and  having  prom- 
ise of  that  which  is  to  come,  reaching  farther  and 
farther  into  those  misty  regions,  sweeping  past  eter- 
nal landmarks,  until  thought  fails  and  the  soul  pants 
for  weariness.  Salvation  parallels  eternity !  Hence 
the  soul  enjoys,  thru  the  favor  of  Christ,  a  present 
experience,  peculiar  to  itself  and  separate  from  the 
lump  of  mortality  that  environs  it.  The  body  dies 
—  dissolves  —  becoming  unconscious,  feelingless,  but 
the  soul  never!  There  is  but  one  death  that  it  can  die, 
and  it  must  live  to  do  that,  viz :  separation  from  God, 
who  will  bring  upon  us  the  interminable,  indescrib- 
able vengeance  of  eternal  fire.  May  God  save  you, 
friend,  from  that  terrible  death  (Math.  25,  41,  46). 
Every  careful  Bible  reader  can  very  easily  see  the 
distinction  that  exists  between  flesh  and  spirit — soul 
and  body.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  when  the 
body  is  resurrected,  many  seeming  contradictions 
between  the  soul  nature  and  the  flesh  of  physical 
nature,  will  be  eliminated.  Still,  the  resurrection 
will  bring  into  strong  contrast  the  finer  elements  of 
the  blood-washed  soul  and  the  glorified  body.  How- 
ever, those  vexatious  antagonisms  and  inexplicable 
oppositions  will  be  fully  harmonized,  and  the  whole 
being  united  in  a  perfected,  inseparable  and  indivis- 
ible body,  whose  lustrous  brightness  will  eclipse  the 
sun,  and  rebuking  the  stars  for  their  impertinent 
twinkling,  will  make  them  hide  their  faces  in  a  veil 
of  darkness.    But  the  body  in  its  present  finite  con- 

[235] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

dition  is  in  every  respect  unfitted  to  dwell  contin- 
uously, without  change.  It  must  die,  returning  to 
its  native  dust,  while  the  soul,  whose  temple  it  is, 
inherits  immortality,  and  enters  upon  an  unchange- 
able state  of  grace  and  imperishable  life,  in  contra- 
diction to  its  death.  Thus  we  see,  that  the  soul  is 
destined  to  dwell  in  a  separate  state  without  the 
body,  tho  it  is  not  glorified  without  it.  Regenera- 
tion is  for  the  soul,  and  resurrection  for  the  body; 
hence  the  glorification  of  all  the  saved  will  be  accom- 
plished at  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  "If  I  come 
again  I  will  receive  you  unto  myself."  He  does  not 
promise  to  receive  us  in  the  disembodied  form.  He 
also  told  Nicodemus  that  ''no  man  hath  ascended  up 
to  heaven  but  He  that  came  down  from  heaven,  even 
the  Son  of  Man,  which  is  in  heaven."  Then  where 
are  the  saved?  Where  the  lost?  Do  they  abide  in 
unconscious  nonentity?    What  sayeth  the  gospel? 

''Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled:  Ye  believe  in 
God,  believe  also  in  me.  In  my  Father's  house  are 
many  mansions :  If  it  were  not  so  I  would  have  told 
you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you."  Thinking 
people  are  more  concerned  about  an  unknown  future, 
and  really  take  more  interest  in  a  mysterious  eter- 
nity whither  we  are  all  tending,  than  in  the  visible 
things  around  them.  Man  is  a  spiritual  being  having 
a  physical  nature.  Paul  says,  "that  which  is  first,  is 
natural  (and  in  the  order  of  inception  and  develop- 
ment) that  which  is  spiritual."    In  other  words  the 

[236] 


HEAVEN 

immortal  soul  of  man  was  inbreatlied  —  not  made  — 
into  his  physical  structure,  and  the  inbreathed  soul  is 
endowed  with  an  eternal  spirit  thru  which  element  of 
his  nature  the  moral  image  of  God  is  retained.  Man, 
being  a  trinitarian  in  nature,  naturally  possesses  div- 
ine inclination,  and  even  in  his  fallen  state  entertains 
in  his  thought  many  emotions,  impulses  and  aspira- 
tions that  identify  him  with  his  Maker.  All  persons, 
then,  are  strangely  moved  upon  by  an  invisible  force 
that  they  do  not  understand,  but  that  compels  them 
to  consider  a  prospective  future  immortality,  wheth- 
er they  believe  in  it  as  a  fact  or  not.  Many  refuse  to 
consider  a  future  eternal  state,  because  it  is  myster- 
ious, and  is  presented  to  their  thought  like  the 
shadow  of  a  distant  cloud  across  the  burning  sands 
of  the  desert.  But  the  normal  man  desires  immortal- 
ity. I  believe  that  the  majority  of  lost  men  would 
prefer  immortality  with  sufferings  and  agonies  con- 
sequent upon  infracted  law,  than  to  enter  a  state  of 
nonentity,  and  to  be  eternally  doomed  to  the  dissolu- 
tion of  dust,  with  the  loss  of  all  consciousness  of  God, 
and  personal  responsibility,  and  the  memory  of 
friends  and  loved  ones,  —  in  fact,  the  blotting  out  of 
all  being  as  a  personal  entity.  The  doctrine  of  anni- 
hilation is  contrary  to  the  genius  of  human  nature, 
and  is  an  atheistic  thrust  at  the  truth  that  the  word 
of  God  positively  enjoins  the  hope  of  eternal  life,  and 
encourages  all  men  as  immortal  beings  to  seek  that 
blessed  immortality  that  Jesus  has  revealed  in  the 

[237] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

gospel.  Life  here  gravitates  towards  one  of  two  cen- 
ters, neither  of  which  is  located  in  this  visible  sphere, 
but  which  are  established  as  the  two  separate  divi- 
sions of  eternity.  Both  are  places  that  will  be  occu- 
pied by  human  beings  in  a  bodily  form  and  will  be 
entered  after  the  resurrection  of  all  the  dead.  Those 
places  are  known  in  the  scriptures  as  heaven  and 
hell.  And  for  the  comfort,  encouragement  and  in- 
spiration of  the  believers  in  Christ,  I  will  discuss 
briefly  the  subject  that  perhaps  has  more  charm  and 
alluring  human  and  divine  glory  than  any  other  sub- 
ject about  which  we  know  anything,  viz :  heaven. 

*' Think!  when  our  one  soul  understands 
The  great  word  that  makes  all  things  new; 
When  earth  breaks  up  and  heaven  expands 
How  will  the  change  strike  me  and  you 
In  the  House  not  made  with  hands?" 

Questions  like  the  following  force  themselves 
upon  us.  "Where  are  the  dead?"  "Have  they  en- 
tered upon  their  final  estate  of  weal  or  woe?"  "Do 
they  enter  heaven  or  hell  (I  mean  by  hell  the  place 
of  eternal  torment,  called  Gehenna)  at  death?"  It 
is  evident  that  the  dead  have  entered  into  a  fixed 
state  of  judgment,  or  justification,  at  death,  and  it  is 
true  that  we  enter  into  those  conditions  prior  to  the 
dissolution  of  earth  ties.  Jesus  says:  "He  that  be- 
lieveth  not  is  condemned  already."  And  speaking 
of  the  saved  He  said:  "He  that  believeth  in  the  Son 
hath  everlasting  life."    Hence  death  does  not  bring  a 

[238] 


HEAVEN 

change  in  the  nature  of  any  person  in  relation  to 
the  obligations  of  law,  which  consist  in  the  infliction 
of  its  penalties,  or  the  elimination  of  those  penalties 
through  the  atonement  of  Jesus.  And  death  does  not 
mean  the  cessation  of  being  in  this  world  or  the  next. 
Death  temporarily  ends  physical  life  here,  by  dis- 
solving the  human  structure.  It  does  nothing  more, 
but  as  death  finds  us,  so  will  we  be  when  we  appear 
in  judgment.  ''It  is  appointed  unto  man  once  to  die 
but  after  this  the  judgment."  ''As  a  tree  falleth  so 
shall  it  lie."  But  the  scriptures  plainly  teach  that 
disembodied  souls  do  not  enter  into  a  permanent, 
final  place  of  judgment  in  death.  They  enter  those 
places  "after  death."  Death  is  the  gateway  to  the 
eternal  world,  that 

"Lies  around  us  like  a  cloud — 
A  world  we  do  not  see; 

Yet  the  sweet  closing  of  an  eye 
May  bring  us  there  to  be." 

As  there  is  a  second  and  higher  life  for  believers, 
there  is  also  a  second  and  deeper  death  for  disbe- 
lievers. And  as  after  that  life  there  is  no  more 
death,  so  after  that  death  there  is  no  more  life, 

' '  The  sinner's  doom,  the  sinner's  doom. 
How  dark  the  agony 
That  haunts  transgressors  to  the  tomb, 
Then  press  on  to  endlessness  to  come. 
Whose  worm  may  never  die. ' ' 

There    are    two    separate    places    as    temporary 

receptacles    for    the    accommodation    of    unclothed 

[239] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

spirits.  The  scriptures  very  clearly  emphasize  the 
glorification  of  the  resurrected  saints.  Spirits  of 
just  men  are  made  perfect  in  the  intermediate  state 
but  never  glorified  out  of  the  body.  Consequently, 
bodily  souls  are  barred  from  heaven.  "If  I  come 
again  I  will  receive  you  unto  myself."  Jesus  never 
said  one  word  that  can  be  made  to  teach  the  com- 
monly accepted  theory  of  an  immediate  entrance  at 
death,  upon  an  eternal  state. 

He  founded  a  strong  hope  for  future  deliverance 
upon  the  fact  of  His  Second  Coming,  the  blessed 
event  being  the  only,  and  last,  but  all-sufficient  hope 
of  the  Church.  Everything  depends  upon  it.  Souls 
will  remain  in  the  separate  state,  and  the  sacred  dust 
of  our  loved  ones  in  the  power  of  the  grave.  Nations 
will  rise  and  fall,  wars  curse  the  earth  with  their 
ravages  of  brutality  and  carnage.  Men  will  sin  and 
die;  injustice  will  wax  and  righteousness  wane,  the 
heavens  retaining  the  sealed  treasures  of  our  divine 
heritage,  until  the  trumpet  sounds  and  the  stars  are 
swept  from  their  billowy  thrones,  to  make  way  for 
the  coming  of  Jesus  and  the  holy  angels.  Then  the 
gates  of  the  grave  will  be  torn  from  their  hinges, 
and  the  lawful  captives  delivered  from  the  power  of 
death,  never  to  die  while  Jesus  reigns.  Let  us  watch 
and  pray  for  His  speedy  return. 

I  will  now  state  clearly  my  position,  and  seek  to 
prove  it  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt  or  gainsay- 
ing: (a)  The  saved  enter  into  a  temporary  place  of 

[240] 


HEAVEN 

rest  called  Paradise.  This  place  is  under  the  throne 
of  heaven,  and  within  the  bounds  of  heaven's  atmos- 
phere, but  it  is  not  eternal  as  a  place,  nor  unchange- 
able as  a  state  of  grace,  because  its  happy  subjects 
are  not  fully  emancipated,  neither  can  they  be  said 
to  have  triumphed  completely  over  death,  because 
their  soulless  bodies  are  mouldering  in  the  grave. 
None  but  the  perfected,  the  glorified,  the  resurrected 
can  enter  the  pearly  Gate  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 

''0  holy  dwelling  place  of  God! 
Oh,  glorious  city  all  divine! 
Thy  streets,  by  feet  of  seraphs  trod, 
Shall  one  glad  day  be  trod  by  mine. ' ' 

Paradise  is,  according  to  the  plain  unequivocal 
statement  of  Christ,  in  Hades,  that  in  nearly  every 
instance  is  incorrectly  translated  by  our  English  word 
Hell,  and  meaning  eternal  torment,  in  our  Author- 
ized Version  of  the  scriptures.  Liddell  and  Scott  de- 
fines it  to  mean  ''death,  the  grave,"  or  the  "unseen 
world."  It  does  not  necessarily  convey  the  idea  of 
future  punishment,  tho  having  an  indefinite  meaning, 
and  comprehending  in  its  wide  domain,  the  whole  of 
the  invisible  universe.  Of  course,  awful  destruction 
and  likewise  eternal  happiness  are  included  in  its 
etymology,  but  only  in  the  sense  of  being  future. 
Men  are  not  suffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire, 
nor  are  they  enjoying  the  full  fruition  of  the  Chris- 
tian hope  at  the  present  time.  Jesus  spoke  of  the 
Rich  Man  and  Lazarus  being  in  Hades,  (Luke  16  :23) 

[241] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

the  latter  suffering,  being  tormented,  the  former  en- 
joying a  larger  portion  of  joy  and  life  and  prosperity 
than  he  had  ever  dreamed  of  in  this  world.  But 
these  two  are  widely  separated  by  a  ''gulf  fixed"  and 
impassable.  Lazarus  is  in  paradise,  and  the  Rich 
Man  in  Tartarus,  the  two  receptacles  or  divisions  of 
Hades.  The  word  Tartarus  is  used  by  Peter  (2  Pet. 
2:4),  when  he  is  speaking  of  the  fall  and  ruin  of 
rebellious  angels.  He  calls  it  an  "abyss  or  prison 
house,"  its  miserable  inhabitants  being  "reserved  in 
chains  of  darkness  awaiting  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day."  This,  however,  is  only  a  temporary 
place,  its  subjects  destined  to  perish  eternally  in  "a 
devil's  hell."  Sodomites,  lost  Ante-diluvians  and  the 
Christless  dead  of  all  ages  are  there,  awaiting  the 
final  decree  of  judgment,  after  which  in  their  resur- 
rected bodies  they  will  be  "turned  into  hell  with  the 
nations  that  forget  God."  "We  are  therefore  ex- 
horted by  Christ  to  be  faithful  and  fearless  in  his 
service :  "And  fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body,  but 
are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul:  but  rather  fear  him 
that  is  able  to  destroy  both  body  and  soul  in  hell." 
Math.  10:28. 

Christ  entered  Paradise  at  death  and  remained 
there  during  the  interval  between  His  death  and  re- 
surrection. This  is  evident,  judging  from  his  lan- 
guage to  Mary,  who  was  in  the  act  of  touching  him 
at  the  tomb.  He  said  to  her:  "Touch  me  not,  for  I 
am  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father:  but  go  to  my 

[242] 


HEAVEN 

brethren  and  say  unto  them,  I  ascend  unto  my  Father 
and  your  Father;  and  to  my  God  and  your  God." 
Jno.  20:17. 

Thus,  the  following  facts  are  self -manifest,  viz: 
(a)  Christ  at  death  did  not  ascend  to  His  Father,  (b) 
He  went  in  company  with  the  penitent  thief  (Lu. 
23:43)  to  Paradise  and  (c)  we  conclude  that  Para- 
dise is  not  Heaven,  because  God's  throne  is  there, 
and  it  is  also  his  dwelling  place.  David  teaches  this 
theory  in  many  of  his  Psalms,  but  one  quotation  from 
him,  cited  by  Peter,  is  sufficient  for  our  present  pur- 
pose. Speaking  of  the  death  of  Christ,  accomplished 
in  conformity  to  the  pre-determination  of  God,  he 
said:  ''For  David  speaketh  concerning  him,  I  fore- 
saw the  Lord  always  before  my  face,  for  he  is  on  my 
right  hand  that  I  should  not  be  moved:  Therefore 
did  my  heart  rejoice  and  my  tongue  was  glad ;  more- 
over also  my  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope;  because  thou 
wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell  (Hades)  neither  wilt 
thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption."  Acts. 
2  :25-27.  The  physical  structure  of  Christ  was  sin- 
less, therefore  incorruptible.  During  its  confinement 
in  "Joseph's  new  tomb"  it  was  miraculously  pre- 
served, the  ravages  of  decay  being  stayed,  and  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  over-shadowing  it  contin- 
ually. But  the  divine  nature  was  absent,  in  the 
separate  state  with  the  righteous  dead,  the  exper- 
ience "thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell"  (Hades) 
referring  to  his  sojourn  in  the  mysterious  land  of 

[243] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

''spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect."  The  term  Para- 
dise (Phulake)  is  used  three  times  in  the  holy  scrip- 
tures. Heaven  and  Paradise  are  never  used  synon- 
omously  by  any  New  Testament  writer.  The  passage 
in  Luke  has  already  been  quoted  and  we  will  intro- 
duce the  two  remaining  passages.  Paul  uses  one  of 
them,  when  speaking  of  "visions  and  revelations  of 
the  Lord ' '  that  had  been  accorded  him.  He  says :  "  It 
is  not  expedient  for  me  doubtless  to  glory.  I  will 
come  to  visions  and  revelations  of  the  Lord.  I  knew 
a  man  in  Christ  about  fourteen  years  ago,  whether 
out  of  the  body  I  cannot  tell ;  God  knoweth :  how 
that  he  was  caught  up  into  Paradise,  and  heard  un- 
speakable words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to 
utter."  2  Cor.  12:1-4.  I  am  aware  that  it  is  com- 
monly held  by  many  that  Paradise  and  Heaven  are 
the  same  place,  and  that  there  is  no  middle  life.  The 
misapprehension  of  the  class  referred  to  arises  from 
supposing  that  Paul  in  these  four  verses  refers  to 
the  self -same  event,  and  that  he  had  but  one  revela- 
tion. But  he  expressly  declares  in  the  first  verse 
that  he  had  visions  (plural)  and  revelations,  which 
he  would  proceed  to  relate.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
narration  he  informs  them  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
unconscious  of  his  true  state,  hence  he  could  not  tell 
whether  he  was  in  the  body  or  out  of  it.  However, 
he  was  consciously  alive,  and  cognizant  of  his  mys- 
terious surroundings.  He  went  to  the  "third  Hea- 
ven" but  did  not  mention  anything  that  he  saw  in 

[244] 


HEAVEN 

that  celestial  city.  With  the  bare  mention  of  the 
fact  that  he  saw  it,  was  in  it,  and  lost  for  the  time 
being  in  its  luxurious  glory  and  drunk  with  its 
ecstatic  delights,  he  lets  the  curtain  of  silence  fall 
upon  the  gorgeous  scene.  Then  he  speaks  of  Para- 
dise. He  saw  many  things  that  it  was  not  lawful  for 
him  to  utter.  He  manifests  a  spirit  of  careful  reserve 
as  he  proceeds  with  his  meager  description  of  the 
place.  But  it  is  clear  from  his  language  that  the 
place  is  not  inhabited  at  present  by  those  persons 
who  received  their  bodies  thru  translation  or  resur- 
rection in  the  past  nor  by  disembodied  souls.  So 
far  as  we  can  gather  from  the  descriptions  that  we 
have  on  record,  in  the  writings  of  Paul,  John,  et  al, 
its  only  occupants  are  the  Three  Persons  composing 
the  holy  Trinity  and  guardian  angels,  that  keep  vigil 
with  drawn  swords  at  its  pearly  gates  continually. 

^'In  thee  no  temple  lifts  its  dome, 
No  sun  its  radiant  beam  lets  fall; 
For  there — of  like  the  eternal  home — 
God  and  the  lamb  illumine  all! 

The  enraptured  John  triumphantly  exclaims: 
''And  I  saw  no  temple  therein:  For  the  Lord  God 
Almighty  and  the  lamb  are  the  temple  of  it.  And  the 
city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon  to 
shine  in  it :  For  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it  and 
the  lamb  is  the  light  thereof. 

The  allusion  here  cannot  be  misunderstood.  In 
the  holy  of  holies  of  the  earthly  Jerusalem,  there  was 

[245] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

neither  natural  nor  artificial  light:  No  golden  lamp 
shown  within  its  walls,  and  not  a  ray  of  light  could 
enter  there;  nor  was  there  need  for  them,  for  that 
sacred  place  was  illumined  by  the  glory  of  the  Shek- 
inah,  which  occasionly  filled  the  temple  with  super- 
natural brightness,  and  shown  forth  to  the  view  of 
the  joyful  worshippers  without.  The  earthly  Shek- 
inah  was  a  symbol  of  the  eternal  sanctuary,  where 
God  and  the  lamb  dwell  and  which  needs  not  the 
light  of  sun,  moon  or  stars,  to  furnish  them  light,  for 
they  furnish  illumination  for  all  the  city,  that  shines 
resplendent  thruout  vast  eternity  in  their  own  lus- 
trous and  uneclipsed  personality.  Another  very  im- 
portant passage  is  found  in  Revelations,  second  chap- 
ter and  seventh  verse.  It  reads:  ''To  him  that  over- 
cometh,  to  him  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life, 
which  is  in  the  Paradise  of  God."  (R.  V.). 

This  is  a  highly  figurative  passage,  and  calls  to 
mind  the  dark  tragedy  of  the  world 's  first  Paradise  that 
our  First  Adam  lost  thru  disobedience;  but  it  rings 
the  note  of  hope  clear  and  strong,  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  returning  prodigal.  Jesus  is  "the  tree  of 
life."  He  is  omnipresent  filling  all  space  and  is  aces- 
sible  to  a  penitent  believer  from  every  quarter  of  the 
globe.  There  can  be  no  Paradise  where  Jesus  is  not, 
but  the  humblest  home  of  the  poorest  Lazarus  is 
heaven  with  him  dwelling  midst  its  poverty  and 
want.  Christ,  as  "the  tree  of  life,"  dwells  in  the 
midst  of  heaven,  in  the  midst  of  earth,  and  in  the 

[246] 


HEAVEN 

midst  of  that  happy  place  where  multitudes  of  the 
blood-washed  subjects  of  grace  await  His  coming 
and  the  redemption  of  their  bodies  from  the  grave,  — 
the  Eden  of  joy  that  is  known  in  the  scriptures  as 
''the  Paradise  of  God." 

Plurality  of  Heaven 

Heaven  is  unquestionably  a  place  and  not  a 
mere  state  of  spiritual  happiness.  This  were  essen- 
tial to  the  prosperity  of  the  redeemed  and  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Christian  enterprise,  because  man  cannot 
conceive  of  peace  and  safety  apart  from  a  local  en- 
vironment, and  would  not  be  able  to  appreciate  it 
if  we  could  do  so.  We  are  social,  clannish  creatures. 
Our  hearts  crave  the  fellowship  of  our  kind,  and  our 
nature  demands  for  its  satisfaction  and  contentment 
the  association  of  congenial  spirits.  Heaven  is  the  only 
place  in  the  vast  eternity  of  God  that  fully  supplies 
the  wants  and  cravings  and  desires  of  glorified  hum- 
an nature.  Christ  said,  ^^In  my  Father's  house  are 
many  mansions,"  thus  emphasizing  the  homelike 
features  of  the  celestial  city.  Some  man  will  ask, 
''Where  is  heaven?"  We  cannot  answer  that  ques- 
tion accurately.  According  to  the  scriptures  it  is 
above  us.  As  to  its  exact  location  the  scriptures  are 
silent.  But  the  prayers  of  the  faithful  in  all  ages 
have  been  ever  directed  UPWARD. 

Thus  ''Solomon  stood  before  the  altar  of  the 

[247] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

Lord  in  the  presence  of  all  the  congregation  of  Israel, 
and  spread  forth  his  hands  toward  heaven,"  show- 
ing that  he  believed  that  it  was  above  him.  David 
also  recognized  the  fact  that  heaven  was  above  the 
earth.  But  this  point  is  really  immaterial,  hence  I 
will  not  consume  any  more  time  in  discussing  it. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  however,  that  HEAVEN  IS  WHERE 
CHRIST  IS.  1  would  rather  live  in  hell  with  Christ, 
than  to  dwell  in  heaven  without  him!  I  remember 
having  read  an  incident  related  by  Mr.  Moody  that 
illustrates  the  point  under  consideration.  A  lady 
in  a  northern  city  was  "sick  nigh  unto  death."  It 
was  decided,  therefore,  to  remove  her  to  the  home  of 
an  aunt  that  lived  in  a  distant  city.  The  little  girl 
was  dissatisfied,  and  kept  wanting  to  see  her  mama. 
In  the  course  of  time  the  mother  died,  but  the  child 
could  not  realize  the  meaning  of  death.  She  became 
frantic  and  grief-stricken.  She  could  not  be  recon- 
ciled to  her  surroundings.  The  good,  kind  aunt  was 
not  "mother."  It  was  decided  finally  to  take  her 
back  home.  She  went  thru  all  the  rooms,  calling 
plaintively:  "Mama!  Oh,  Mama!"  No  answer  came. 
Failing  to  find  her  mother,  she  said  to  her  aunt, 
"Let's  go;  mama  is  gone!"  It  was  not  home  to 
her  now  that  the  chief  attraction  —  the  light 
—  mother  —  had  departed.  Thus,  to  a  Christian 
anywhere  is  heaven  with  Jesus.  The  scriptures  re- 
cognize three  heavens.  First  the  region  of  the  air 
thru  which    the   birds   fly;    second,   the   firmament 

[248] 


HEAVEN 

above  the  clouds  in  which  the  sun  and  moon  and 
stars  are  fixed ;  third,  the  third  heaven,  the  high  and 
holy  place  of  which  the  Jewish  holy  of  holies  was  a 
type,  the  place  of  God's  special  abode,  the  "center 
and  metropolis  of  the  universe,  in  which  the  omni- 
potent Deity  affords  a  nearer  and  more  sensible  man- 
ifestation of  his  glory  than  in  the  other  parts  of  the 
divine  kingdom."  God  reigns  there,  in  the  perfec- 
tion of  his  infinite  holiness,  clad  with  ineffable  glory 
and  insufferable  light,  which  no  imperfect  being  can 
see,  or  approach  and  live.  Were  a  disembodied  spirit 
to  elude  the  angel  that  guards  the  gates  of  paradise 
and  loose  its  way  among  the  star-decked  paths  of 
eternity  and  wander  up  to  His  throne,  it  would  per- 
ish eternally,  finding  for  a  winding  sheet  the  glory  of 
His  presence,  and  for  a  grave,  the  magnificent  scenes 
of  the  holy  city.  But  such  a  calamnity  cannot  happen, 
because  Jesus  has  locked  the  joy-gates  of  Paradise 
with  the  key  of  predestination,  and  those  "prisoners 
of  hope"  are  secured  in  the  flower  gardens  of  de- 
light, and  He  will  not  permit  them  to  escape  nor  give 
those  happy  captives  freedom,  until  the  time  is  ful- 
filled for  his  return  to  the  kingdom,  and  the  clarion 
tones  of  the  trumpet  rings  forth  the  thrilling  message 
of  complete  redemption.  Then  the  emancipated 
hosts  of  God  shall  possess  the  earth  and  Jesus  shall 
reign  Lord  of  Lords  and  King  of  Kings.  Thank  O^d 
for  the  glorious  prospect ! 

[249] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

Heavenly  Recognition 

This  life  is  a  prophecy  —  a  forecast  of  that 
which  is  to  come.  The  material  universe  is  a  shadow 
of  things  that  are  destined  to  appear  at  some  future 
time.  We  are  developing  into  a  stereotyped  and 
fixed  character  in  this  world,  everything  about  us 
in  reality  contributing  to  that  one  grand  aim  and 
purpose  of  our  existence ;  but  still,  we  must  pass  into 
another  sphere  of  existence  before  the  real  object  and 
true  characer  is  attained.  In  this  mortal  sphere  we 
change,  decay  like  the  forest.  The  strength  of  man- 
hood fails,  and  the  beauty  and  charms  of  womanhood 
wane  and  perish  like  the  flowers  of  the  field,  and  like 
the  beast  of  the  earth  all  must  die,  and  become  food 
for  worms.  This  mortal,  thru  this  method  of  the  div- 
ine procedure,  must  put  on  immortality.  Now,  the 
question  presses  heavily  upon  many  minds,  will  these 
changes  so  far  affect  the  identity  of  the  individual, 
as  to  render  us  unrecognizable  in  the  next  life?  Or 
will  we  know  each  other  in  Heaven  ?  If  so,  will  there 
be  recognition  of  each  other  in  the  place  of  torment  ? 
These  are  very  perplexing  questions,  and  perhaps 
they  are  a  more  common  source  of  anxiety  and  con- 
fusion than  any  other  themes  or  theories  of  teachings 
in  the  Bible.  But  I  am  confident  that  we  will  know 
each  other  in  the  eternal  world.  Death  does  not  des- 
troy the  identity  of  the  individual.  There  is  a  dead 
prince  in  King  David's  palace.  Disease  that  stalks 
up  the  lane  of  the  poor  and  poverty-stricken,  putting 

[250] 


HEAVEN 

his  cold  hand  on  the  lips  of  the  wan  and  feeble, 
mounts  the  palace  stairs  and  blows  the  frost  of  death 
in  Bathsheba's  child's  face.  Tears  are  wine  to  the 
king  of  terrors.  Wailing  and  lamentations,  dismal 
and  heartrending,  ring  thru  the  palace.  But  David 
puts  away  the  drapery  of  mourning,  and  cheers  his 
heart  in  the  prospect  of  a  future  meeting  with  the 
child  in  Paradise.  He  said,  "He  cannot  come  to  me, 
but  I  can  go  to  him."  He  certainly  believed  that  he 
would  know  the  child  in  a  separate  state.  The  scrip- 
tures certainly  teach  the  identity  of  the  soul  in  Para- 
dise. What  comfort  would  it  have  been  to  David  to 
meet  the  child  anywhere  in  the  universe  of  God,  and 
not  recognize  him?  What  consolation  would  it  be  to 
any  of  us  to  know  that  we  were  in  the  company  of 
loved  ones,  and  not  be  able  to  distinguish  between 
them?  Heaven,  it  seems  to  me,  would  be  a  very 
lonesome  place  were  we  to  be  strangers  to  each  other 
there.  Then  we  would  have  less  sense  and  know- 
ledge in  that  place,  the  sanctuary  of  eternal  wisdom, 
than  we  possessed  on  earth. 

Shakespeare  said :  There  is  nothing  in  a  name ; 
a  rose  by  any  other  name  would  smell  just  as  sweet. 
But  that  sentiment  is  the  logic  of  folly,  if  there  can 
be  such  a  thing.  It  is  true  that  a  rose  would  smell 
just  as  sweet  with  another  name,  but  the  name  is  so 
closely  connected  with  the  plant  that  bears  it  as  to 
be  inseparably  identified.  Our  names,  says  Jesus,  are 
'* written  in  heaven."    Then,  will  we  not  hear  them 

[  251  ] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

there  ?  If  the  names  of  the  faithful  are  not  preserved 
for  us,  for  whom  are  they  kept  ?  Certainly  they  are 
not  for  the  Lord,  because  he  hath  all  wisdom,  and 
does  not  heed  a  written  record  of  any  event,  occur- 
rence, tragedy,  date  or  name  of  anything,  or  any 
creature  in  heaven,  or  earth,  to  help  him  remember 
it.  He  cannot  forget  only  in  the  sense  that  he 
chooses  not  to  punish  penitents  for  their  evil  deeds. 
Hence,  I  believe  that  we  will  have  our  present  names 
in  heaven,  and  that  we  will  know  each  other  in  that 
celestial  city.  Dives  knew  Lazarus  in  Paradise,  and 
asked  for  assistance,  showing  very  clearly  that  two 
things  were  true  of  all  who  enter  the  abode  of  spirits, 
viz:  (a)  They  have  their  creature  wants  and  (b) 
they  recognize  each  other  in  these  widely  separated 
places.  The  rich  man  knew  Abraham,  whom  he  had 
never  seen,  and  called  him  father.  He  also  remem- 
bered his  brethren  in  this  world,  which  is  a  very 
satisfactory  proof  to  my  mind  that  men  in  that  place 
of  darkness  know  each  other,  because  the  rich  man 
missed  his  five  brothers,  and  knew  that  they  were 
not  present  among  the  black  throngs  of  miserable 
creatures  that  wait  in  chains  of  darkness  for  the 
judgment  of  the  great  day.  I  am  sure  you  remember 
what  Peter  and  John  said  to  Christ  in  the  mount  of 
Transfiguration.  They  requested  Jesus  to  allow 
them  to  erect  booths,  "one  for  Moses  and  one  for 
Elias."  Moses  and  Elijah  had  been  dead  for  many 
years.     Neither  Peter,   James   nor  John  had    ever 

[252] 


HEAVEN 

seen  nor  had  they  ever  looked  upon  any  picture  or 
likeness  of  these  great  men.  Moses  evidently  repres- 
ented the  resurrected  state  of  the  church,  while 
Elijah  represented  the  translated  church.  Peter 
knew  Moses  from  Elijah,  and  so  did  James  and  John. 
Will  they  not  know  these  notable  worthies  in  the 
glory-world,  and  may  we  not  joyfully  expect  to  do 
so,  too?  Will  heaven  be  all  glitter,  and  gold,  and 
glare,  with  no  distinctions  in  rank  and  personality, 
variety  and  appearance?  No!  A  THOUSAND 
TIMES  NO!  I  do  not  believe  heaven  will  represent 
monotony  nor  humdrum  commonality.  Neither  is  it 
a  sort  of  dead  level.  There  are  abodes  there.  Ranks 
of  angels  there.  Persons  that  made  history  charming 
by  their  patriotic  devotion  to  Christ,  and  gave  Chris- 
tianity a  triumphant  prospect  in  this  life.  They  are 
not  destined  therefore  to  be  buried,  lost  to  acquain- 
tances and  relatives  in  heaven.  Jesus  specially 
stresses  this  glorious  truth,  and  offers  it  as  an  induce- 
ment to  the  lost  to  seek  heaven,  viz:  ''They  shall 
come  from  the  east  and  from  the  west  and  shall  sit 
down  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  with  Abraham  and 
Isaac  and  Jacob."  If  men  do  not  know  one  from 
another,  why  mention  the  fact  that  Abraham  and 
Isaac  and  Jacob  will  be  present  at  the  great  feast  of 
joy,  when  the  banquet  chambers  are  opened  to  the 
redeemed  and  glorified? 

Suppose  you  were  invited  to  attend  a  banquet 
at  New  Orleans,  and  as  an  inducement  to  secure  your 

[253] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

attendance  it  was  announced  that  President  Wilson 
and  Wm.  J  Bryan  and  Ex.  Gov.  Hughes  and  Senator 
Lodge,  with  many  other  great  men  from  different 
parts  of  the  world  would  be  present.  You  have 
never  met  any  one  of  them,  and  never  saw  a  picture 
nor  read  a  description  of  their  personal  appearance. 
You  sit  down  to  the  banquet  feeling  like  a  dunce. 
You  do  not  know  Bryan  from  Wilson  nor  Hughes 
from  Lodge.  Then  to  carry  the  thought  further,  say 
that  these  men  are  unknown  to  each  other.  Would 
that  be  a  very  delightful  occasion?  Do  you  think 
that  you  would  enjoy  the  evening?  Nothing  could 
be  more  preposterous  and  absurd.  I  believe  that  we 
will,  thru  the  bestowment  of  divine  knowledge  to 
each  separately  and  by  name,  the  earth  name,  know 
every  glorified  person  in  Heaven.  But  some  one  will 
say:  "I  am  sure  that  many  of  my  relatives  are  lost, 
and  if  I  should  see,  and  know  my  unsaved  children  I 
could  not  enjoy  Heaven."  My  dear  friend,  let  me 
reason  with  you  upon  that  subject  for  a  few  mom- 
ents. You  are  sincere,  but  you  have  failed  to  con- 
sider two  very  important  truths  in  relation  to  this 
question.  (a)  Christ  changes  the  genealogy  of 
human  nature  and  transfers  its  source  and  origin 
from  the  First  Adam,  to  himself,  the  Second  Adam. 
Hence  the  saved  represent  a  new  generation  of  men. 
They  are  made  of  one  blood,  the  royal  crimson  of 
heaven,  and  they  never  die  in  the  sense  of  torment. 
Those  in  the  First  Adam,  do  perish  eternally  and  in 

[254] 


HEAVEN 

their  own  separate  blood  and  individuality,  perishing 
in  their  sins;  their  carnal  natures,  remaining  un- 
changed, except  to  grow  worse.  But  the  saved  will 
leave  their  carnal  natures  behind  in  the  grave,  and 
we  will  not  know  each  other  after  the  flesh,  or  in 
relation  to  carnality,  but  after  the  spirit,  or  in  the 
same  sense  in  which  we  know  Christ.  We  do  not 
know  Him  after  the  flesh  at  present,  and  we  shall  be 
''made  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  he  is." 
Thus  we  have  the  same  physical  structure,  but  sin 
will  not  be  identifled  with  it,  hence  there  will  be  no 
weddings  in  heaven,  except  that  of  Christ  and  the 
Church,  but  we  shall  be  as  the  angels  of  God  that 
never  marry.  Therefore,  we  will  not  have  the  power 
to  mourn  and  lament  in  heaven,  because  our  relations 
to  each  other  will  not  be  affected  by  the  flesh,  or 
carnality.  The  lost  will  be  to  us  as  a  separate  and 
unknown  generation  too.  Thank  God  He  will  brush 
the  tears  from  our  cheeks  and  fill  us  with  laughter 
and  unceasing  delight! 

^'Oh,  angel,  lend  me  the  shade  of  thy  wing; 
I  see  the  portals  of  light  unrolled, 
With  songs  of  welcome  their  arches  ring — 
The  ransomed  are  safe  in  their  heavenly  fold. ' ' 

I  commend  the  beautiful  statement  of  Bishop 
Norris  to  all  thoughtful  persons,  viz:  ''The  joys  of 
heaven  are  without  example,  above  experience,  and 
beyond  imagination,  —  for  which  the  whole  creation 
wants  a  comparison;  we,  an  apprehension;  and  even 

[255] 


CHRIST    TRIUMPHANT 

the  word  of  God,  a  revelation. ' '  The  glory  of  heaven 
is  indescribable,  and  its  joys  are  unspeakable.  And 
best  of  all,  there  is  no  death  in  heaven.  It  is  life  and 
life  forever  —  eternal  life.  Life  is  glorious  tho  it  be 
just  for  a  moment  —  but  who  can  measure,  fathom,  or 
weigh  the  period  of  its  duration?  Lift  your  scales 
and  it  is  eternal  life.  Go  to  eternity's  chronometer, 
and  mark  the  flight  of  cycles  infinite,  and  count  the 
vibrations  of  its  pendulum,  ever  going  and  coming; 
count  the  strokes  of  its  sounding  bell,  dying  away  in 
music  midst  the  flowery  hills  of  heaven,  each  repeat- 
ing in  its  last  dying  murmur.  Forever!  Forever!  when 
the  chronicler  of  revolving  cycles  reveals  the  history 
of  his  records  it  will  be,  ^'forever!  forever!^'  Life  is 
heaven,  and  eternity  is  the  period  of  its  enjoyment. 


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